• Wion
  • /World
  • /German Chancellor Olaf Scholz joins TikTok in a bid to woo young voters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz joins TikTok in a bid to woo young voters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz joins TikTok in a bid to woo young voters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a bid to woo young voters, joined TikTok and shared his first post on the social media platform.

Scholz took to his official X account and in a post jokingly announced that he had joined the short-form video hosting service.

"I won't dance. Promise. #TikTok," he wrote.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Scholz's very first post on TikTok, shared by his new account TeamBundeskanzler (Team Chancellor) on Monday (Apr 8), is a video that showcases a briefcase on a couch before panning over to the German leader sitting at his desk, set against stomping bassoon music.

"The Federal Press Office is expanding its range of information for citizens who are increasingly using TikTok to find out about and discuss politics," a statement from government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said.

Scholz's presence on TikTok is aimed at targeting young people in particular, as per a statement released by his office.

By Monday morning, Scholz's account had 615 followers, however, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has gained over 411,000 followers over time andis very active on the platform.

'TikTok the most appealing app for first-time voters'

Various leaders across the globe have turned to the social media platform in order to expand their reach among first-time voters.

Earlier, a similar trend was noticed in the Indonesia presidential polls where the three candidates became a part of the social media bandwagon to lure the voters.

They could be seen shaking a leg on famous tracks and also answering questions in real time during live-streamed sessions.

With a user base of over 125 million in Indonesia, the short-form video hosting service has turned into the second-most used application for Indonesiansafter television. Hence, it was widely used during the presidential poll campaign period.

US President Joe Biden's 2024 re-election campaign also joined TikTok in the month of February even though his administration has expressed security concerns over the app.

Biden's account bio declared he "Grows the economy" while the video was captioned: "lol hey guys".

In the video, Biden could be seen playing a light-hearted, rapid-fire game with questions ranging from politics to the Super Bowl.

(With inputs from agencies)