site.btaOpposition Parties in Romania Attract Young Voters via TikTok, Established Parties Prefer Facebook

Some 42% of young people in Romania are getting informed through social networks, one of which is TikTok, according to a survey by IRES agency, quoted by the Adevarul newspaper. The platform has developed rapidly in Romania in recent years, reaching 7.4 million users in 2023, so politicians are trying to attract votes from there as well, the media outlet notes.

According to Adevarul, opposition parties have been more successful in this endeavor. One of the most popular political faces on TikTok is said to be the leader of the Romanian nationalist party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, who has over 413,000 followers and 6.2 million likes. 

By popularity on the social network, Simion is followed by Senator Diana Sosoaca - leader of the nationalist and eurosceptic party "SOS Romania", who has over 276,000 followers and a million likes.

Save Romania Union (USR) has over 61,000 followers and 1.6 million likes.  Its leader, Catalin Drula, has 3,138 followers and 35, 000 likes. On TikTok, the party distributes mostly video messages of party members in which they address voters directly and mostly criticise the government, which is also the approach of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians. 

Also gaining popularity on TikTok is MEP Vlad Gheorghe, who announced that he will be an independent candidate for a new mandate after a scandal with the leadership of the Save Romania Union. He has 442,000 followers and 10.8 million likes.

Old parties such as the Social Democratic and National Liberal parties, which are now in power, have a weak presence on TikTok. The Social Democratic Party has 15,770 followers and over 345,000 likes. Its profile mainly publishes excerpts from interviews, with posts having few reactions. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu's profile has 1,650 followers and 2,692 likes.

Established parties are more active on Facebook. The National Liberal Party has 476,000 followers and its leader Nicolae Ciuca has 63,000. The Social Democratic Party has 195,000 followers and Prime Minister Marcel Cholakou is followed by 216,000. He is also one of the most popular political leaders on Facebook. 

As far as the opposition is concerned, the official page of the Save Romania Union has 289,000 followers and its leader, Catalin Drula, has 96,000 followers. George Simion is the most followed party leader with 1.3 million followers and the page of his party has 178,000 followers.