Briefing
As the 2026 election campaigns in Germany enter their final, intense phase, parties are making much greater use of short-form video and image platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Investigations by NDR in Schleswig-Holstein and analyses by the Potsdam Social Media Monitor show that campaigns are setting up dedicated social media teams, hiring additional staff and professionalising formats such as Reels, Stories and short videos to reach younger voters directly in particular.
Regional analyses also reveal marked differences: in some federal states, digital visibility is concentrated in a few particularly influential accounts, while in other markets views are more widely spread. The Potsdam Social Media Monitor records high view counts for individual accounts in some sub-regions and points to differences in algorithmic distribution that can shift the agenda in the short term.
Research and regulatory findings support these observations. The Baden-Württemberg State Authority for Communications (LFK) concludes in its study on 2026 state election that emotionally charged video content performs above average, while traditional networks such as Facebook continue to play a role, albeit a changed one. Several analyses also emphasise a limitation: large follower numbers and video views do not automatically translate into votes; direct engagement on the ground, candidates’ closeness to voters and strong local organisation remain decisive in elections.
At the same time, risks are coming increasingly into focus. Disinformation, targeted algorithmic distribution and opaque advertising practices make political communication harder to scrutinise. Media organisations and regulators are therefore calling for greater transparency about distribution criteria, clear labelling of political advertising and effective measures against manipulated content. For campaigners, this means higher budgets for video production and data analysis, more finely differentiated audience strategies, and closer integration of digital outreach with in-person mobilisation.
In the short term, digital visibility mainly shapes campaign topics and timing. Whether it changes voting decisions over the longer term remains unclear and requires robust, independent analysis of data. One thing is clear: in 2026, TikTok and Instagram are an established part of political competition in Germany – and present parties and regulators alike with new challenges that are demanding both from a regulatory and organisational perspective.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).