Every week, people post tens of thousands of videos on Tik Tok mentioning either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, including the latest election updates, conspiracy theories and dance moves.

The specific posts attract hundreds of millions of views, corresponding in number to the views of the videos concerning the “Love Island“, the reality show in which a group of women and a group of men gather in a villa with the aim of finding their match.

Not everyone is shown the same videos because the app’s algorithm sends users different content based on their interests. To better understand the electoral content of the videos that reach them 170 million US users of the app, the New York Times watched hundreds of videos from creators across the political spectrum.

What emerged was not just one kind of video. Everyday Americans, news outlets and politicians are trying to crack TikTok’s algorithm with a range of videos, including bombastic debate clips, songs made from speech clips and comic impersonations.

Here are several of these videos categorized by genre.

The Swifties

Even though Taylor Swift has announced that she will vote for Kamala Harris, TikTok users who are her fans are using the pop star’s music for political content. They’re changing the lyrics and many of them are saying they’re going to vote for Donald Trump.

@kayleighhhlynnnn Whos with me?!🇺🇸#swiftiesfortrump #trumpsupporters #trumptrain #trump2024 #womenfortrump #conservatives #conservativetiktok #conservativehypehouse #conservativesoftikt #conservativewomen #womeninpolitics #politics #politicaltiktok #taylorswift #swiftie #swiftietiktok #relatable #viral #fyp ♬ original sound – Brett 🇺🇸

@thedebralea A true masterpiece 🫶✨ #swiftiesfortrump #seifties #trump ♬ sonido original – Viv 🌤️
@swifties4kamala You just need to take several seats and control your urges to scream about all the women you hate🙄 Make sure you’re registered to vote at Vote.org 🗳️ #SwiftiesForKamala #KamalaHarris #Harris2024 #Swifties #Swifttok #TaylorSwift #VoteBlue # HarrisForPresident ♬ original sound – Swifties for Kamala

The imitations

Imitators are a part of presidential elections – lucky are the stars of “Saturday Night Live” that look like candidates — and they’re all over TikTok, too. The app seems smarter than other platforms at funneling comedic videos to receptive viewers.

Austin Nasso, a 29-year-old comedian in New York, regularly posts the expressions of both Mr. Trump and President Biden.

“I try not to deliberately pick sides in my content” said Mr. Nasso. “I try to make fun of both».

@austinnasso

She’s so small little kamala

♬ original sound – Austin Nasso

Sam Wiles, a 37-year-old comedian and writer in Los Angeles, amassed 45,000 fans on TikTok in a three-week period this summer with his over-the-top imitations of Mr. Vance. He said the same videos hadn’t gotten nearly the same attention on Instagram or X.

@votesamwiles JD Vance is just a simple guy #fyp #jdvance #trump2024🇺🇸 #sketchcomedy #weird #veepstakes #Politics #comedy ♬ original sound – Sam Wiles

Mr. Wiles said his videos seemed to reach mostly liberal viewers and had not generated much pro-Vance or pro-Trump comments.

“On TikTok, more people are coming together, for good or for bad“, he said. “I just find people who like my content much easier.”

Since 2019, Alison Reese, a 32-year-old comedian in Los Angeles, has been taking social media by storm with her impersonations of Harris’ expressions. Key element of her performance: She gets her laugh 100%.

Her impersonations of Harris are funny but often flattering.

@alienreese #kamalaharris #comedy #impressions #thewheelsonthebus #bus #kamalaimpersonation #fyp #foryou #nkay #missfrizzle #snl #madtv ♬ original sound – Allison Reese

The musical “Hamilton”

The musical “Hamilton” spans nearly a decade and tells the story of politics in the United States in the centuries before that. However, on TikTok, many users on the left found the show’s music an appropriate way to explain and discuss the current election. The official Broadway cast also released a video last month urging voter registration.

@jxaexo

yes kamala i just fell out of the coconut tree

♬ original sound – HoodedJelly

@ctrl_cira

plus kamala hq’s twitter has a brat banner

♬ jefferson or burr… – spyro :D !!!!

Informative media

Established news outlets are largely behind TikTok videos, where viewers often prefer everyday people rather than traditional news anchors talking from behind a desk. However, several outlets, including The Daily Mail, CNN and NBC News, have made strides in this area by publishing excerpts from discussions, interview clips and their own analyses.

This CNN video shows how even official news networks are taking their cues from TikTok. David Chalian, CNN’s political editor, still shares poll results as he would on air, but from a very different environment.

Mr. Chalian broadcasts from what appears to be a personal office, giving the video a more casual feel.

@cnn CNN Political Director David Chalian explains what he found most surprising about the latest CNN poll of the 2024 presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. #cnn #news #harris #trump #2024election ♬ original sound – CNN

The scientists

Political commentators on TikTok are a bit different than their counterparts on MSNBC and Fox News. They are more relaxed and accessible to their viewers, engaging with comments and answering questions.

Link Lauren, a 27-year-old political commentator who worked on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign, has more than 700,000 followers on TikTok, where his daily videos often refer to Harris as “Kamalamity” and criticize the “media establishment ». He likens his three- to four-minute posts to TV segments, where he breaks down a news story of the day by projecting images and videos behind it.

@itslinklauren Kamala Harris just did her first solo sit down interview as a presidential candidate #uspolitics #politicstiktok #politicaltiktok #foxnews #cnnnews #kamalaharris #donaldtrump ♬ original sound – Link Lauren

The Dancers

Perhaps, no genre is more popular on TikTok than dance, which established itself as a trademark of the app in its early years. Now, however, the dance has evolved from pure entertainment to an attention-grabbing tactic as the viewer watches a video about an entirely different and often weighty topic, such as the presidential election. In some cases, people have mixed candidate comments into songs.

@ddsparklez kamala IS brat – charli xcx, 2024 #kamalaharris #harris2024 #joebiden #election2024 #bratsummer #brat #charlixcx ♬ som original – underworld
@rawlinsness The attitude I will ne bringing to the polling booth DC: me! #dance #jdvance #trump #donaldtrump #nevertrump #election #election2024 #politics #uspolitics #americanpolitics #government #usgovernment #fun #funny #dancing #lipsync #fyp ♬ Never Trump Guy JD Vance House of Evo Remix – CasaDi
@knicolejenae Loving this trend! Let’s be friends if you are too! #trump #idontcare #merica #losejustice #trumptrial #trumpcourt #sham #showtime ♬ Lose Justice – Ives Rebecca Lynn