TikTok is often suspected of giving disproportionate reach to extremist content and fostering political radicalization. But is that really the case? And how exactly does it work? Marcel Erik Lemmer and Ioannis Theocharis wanted to find out \u2013 and what they discovered was surprising. While much is said about filter bubbles and algorithmic radicalization, the reality also reveals a different picture. The platform not only provides space for extremes but also enables democratic discourse and an unexpected diversity of perspectives. Stitches, livestreams, and interactive formats create new contact points between political camps \u2013 connections that often don\u2019t happen offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does this mean for our democracy? And how can we, as a society, leverage platform logics to make democratic content more visible? The lecture offers insights into current research findings and explores how TikTok is shaping a new public sphere \u2013 with emerging forms of political debate, surprising dynamics, and pressing questions that deserve our attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About the Speakers:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcel Erik Lemmer<\/strong> is a research associate at Karlshochschule International University. He studies statehood, civil society, and extremist movements and is the founder of the Junge Demokratiestiftung (Young Democracy Foundation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ioannis Theocharis<\/strong> is also a research associate at Karlshochschule. His work focuses on ecological and political economy and the mental infrastructures that maintain systemic path dependencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/karlshochschule.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Linktree_thumbnail-10-1-1024x1024-1.png\")
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