A new study published in Social Media + Society reveals that stylized TikTok video “edits” of politicians can significantly influence how viewers perceive candidates, particularly regarding their physical attractiveness and, in some cases, overall favorability.
Researchers Kevin Munger and Valerie Li from Pennsylvania State University conducted an experiment examining how short-form video edits—which have exploded in popularity with the rise of platforms like TikTok—affect public perceptions of political figures. The study provides evidence that these user-created compilations represent a shift in political communication that operates differently from traditional media.
What Are TikTok ‘Edits’?
Unlike typical TikTok videos featuring creators filming themselves, “edits” (sometimes referred to as “fan edits” or “cam edits”) are created by combining and manipulating existing video footage. These edits are highly stylized, employing various filters, dramatic music, and visual effects to portray subjects in specific ways.
The study focused on two particular styles:
“Thirst trap” edits employ soft filters and portray politicians engaging in stereotypically attractive activities, often utilizing footage from their younger years. These edits frequently include clips of the subjects playing sports, being surrounded by attractive women, displaying wealth, or making flirtatious facial expressions.
“Badass” edits often employ dark filters and dramatic audio tracks, featuring intense cuts and visual effects, typically showcasing politicians in formal attire delivering speeches or appearing alongside patriotic and military symbols.
According to the researchers, these videos don’t aim for factual representation but rather to produce “a compelling video that portrays a prominent figure in a particular light.”
Key Research Findings
The experiment involved 2,303 participants who passed attention checks. Some viewed non-political celebrity edits (control group), while others watched edits of politicians including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The study’s most significant findings include:
Increased perception of attractiveness: All tested edits significantly improved viewers’ ratings of candidates’ physical attractiveness. “Thirst trap” edits showed stronger effects than “badass” edits, particularly for Biden, where the effect was 250% larger.
Differential impact on favorability: Both types of Trump edits marginally increased favorability ratings by 2-3 points on a 100-point scale. However, neither Biden edit had any significant effect on his favorability.
Partisan influences remain strong: Despite the edits’ effects, traditional partisan factors still heavily influenced both attractiveness and favorability ratings. Democrats rated Biden as more attractive and Trump less so, while Republicans showed the opposite pattern.
Demographic correlations: Men rated both Trump and Biden as significantly more attractive than women did. Older respondents and frequent TikTok users also rated all candidates as more attractive.
The researchers noted that the quality of the edits likely played a role in their effectiveness, suggesting that the Trump edits were higher quality than the Biden edits, which may explain some of the differences in results.
Broader Implications for Political Communication
The study situates these findings within the patterns of digital media consumption. As the researchers note, “Each year, people spend less time reading and more time viewing images,” a tendency that TikTok extends to video.
Unlike text or static images, where factual accuracy is central, these highly edited videos operate differently. “For TikTok ‘edits,’ facticity is beside the point,” the authors write. “A highly edited video, splicing together video from across decades and with a sentimental or bombastic backing track obviously did not ‘take place.'”
Instead, these videos represent what media theorist Vilém Flusser calls “technical images,” designed to produce “a compelling video that demonstrates the point of view of the creator.”
The Creation Ecosystem
The researchers highlight the role of tools like CapCut, an editing app developed by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, in democratizing video editing capabilities. CapCut was the second-most downloaded app in the United States in 2023 and has made sophisticated video manipulation accessible to everyday users.
This accessibility amplifies the advantage of already famous politicians with extensive existing video footage, as creators are “constrained by the video they have available.” As the researchers explain, “These edits thus amplify the importance of existing media coverage, giving an advantage to already famous politicians.”
Political Fandom and Aesthetics
One of the study’s most notable observations is that creators of these edits are participating in a form of political fandom. Rather than engaging in traditional persuasive rhetoric, “their goal is immediately aesthetic: they want their favorite politician to look good.”
This represents what Munger calls the “social media whirlpool,” where communication is “amplified in a positive feedback loop” and content is increasingly created to maximize engagement metrics rather than convey factual information.
Future Implications
The study suggests these findings may have even greater relevance following Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and Kamala Harris’s nomination. The researchers note that “women and people of color are scrutinized more heavily than are White men, especially when it comes to physical appearance and self-presentation.”
They predict that as “the pool of political candidates continues to expand beyond older White men, the importance of physical appearance—and the ability of politicians, political activists and regular social media users to manipulate political appearance—will only increase.”
The researchers conclude that while concerns about digital misinformation often focus on factual accuracy, these edits represent a different phenomenon that is “manifestly not about facticity.” Rather than trying to convince viewers that events actually happened, these videos aim to create emotional responses and shape perceptions through aesthetic means.
For political campaigns and communications professionals, the study suggests that short-form video edits can be “approximately as effective as professionally produced television ads” in influencing viewer perceptions, particularly among younger audiences who consume content on platforms like TikTok.
The study was conducted in June 2024, prior to Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, using a controlled experimental design with 2,807 initial respondents recruited from the online survey platform Prolific.
All images are taken from “Thirst Traps and Quick Cuts: The Effects of TikTok ‘Edits’ on Evaluations of Politicians.” The full study is available here.
A new study published in Social Media + Society reveals that stylized TikTok video “edits” of politicians can significantly influence how viewers perceive candidates, particularly regarding their physical attractiveness and, in some cases, overall favorability.
Researchers Kevin Munger and Valerie Li from Pennsylvania State University conducted an experiment examining how short-form video edits—which have exploded in popularity with the rise of platforms like TikTok—affect public perceptions of political figures. The study provides evidence that these user-created compilations represent a shift in political communication that operates differently from traditional media.
What Are TikTok ‘Edits’?
Unlike typical TikTok videos featuring creators filming themselves, “edits” (sometimes referred to as “fan edits” or “cam edits”) are created by combining and manipulating existing video footage. These edits are highly stylized, employing various filters, dramatic music, and visual effects to portray subjects in specific ways.
The study focused on two particular styles:
According to the researchers, these videos don’t aim for factual representation but rather to produce “a compelling video that portrays a prominent figure in a particular light.”
Key Research Findings
The experiment involved 2,303 participants who passed attention checks. Some viewed non-political celebrity edits (control group), while others watched edits of politicians including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The study’s most significant findings include:
The researchers noted that the quality of the edits likely played a role in their effectiveness, suggesting that the Trump edits were higher quality than the Biden edits, which may explain some of the differences in results.
Broader Implications for Political Communication
The study situates these findings within the patterns of digital media consumption. As the researchers note, “Each year, people spend less time reading and more time viewing images,” a tendency that TikTok extends to video.
Unlike text or static images, where factual accuracy is central, these highly edited videos operate differently. “For TikTok ‘edits,’ facticity is beside the point,” the authors write. “A highly edited video, splicing together video from across decades and with a sentimental or bombastic backing track obviously did not ‘take place.'”
Instead, these videos represent what media theorist Vilém Flusser calls “technical images,” designed to produce “a compelling video that demonstrates the point of view of the creator.”
The Creation Ecosystem
The researchers highlight the role of tools like CapCut, an editing app developed by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, in democratizing video editing capabilities. CapCut was the second-most downloaded app in the United States in 2023 and has made sophisticated video manipulation accessible to everyday users.
This accessibility amplifies the advantage of already famous politicians with extensive existing video footage, as creators are “constrained by the video they have available.” As the researchers explain, “These edits thus amplify the importance of existing media coverage, giving an advantage to already famous politicians.”
Political Fandom and Aesthetics
One of the study’s most notable observations is that creators of these edits are participating in a form of political fandom. Rather than engaging in traditional persuasive rhetoric, “their goal is immediately aesthetic: they want their favorite politician to look good.”
This represents what Munger calls the “social media whirlpool,” where communication is “amplified in a positive feedback loop” and content is increasingly created to maximize engagement metrics rather than convey factual information.
Future Implications
The study suggests these findings may have even greater relevance following Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and Kamala Harris’s nomination. The researchers note that “women and people of color are scrutinized more heavily than are White men, especially when it comes to physical appearance and self-presentation.”
They predict that as “the pool of political candidates continues to expand beyond older White men, the importance of physical appearance—and the ability of politicians, political activists and regular social media users to manipulate political appearance—will only increase.”
The researchers conclude that while concerns about digital misinformation often focus on factual accuracy, these edits represent a different phenomenon that is “manifestly not about facticity.” Rather than trying to convince viewers that events actually happened, these videos aim to create emotional responses and shape perceptions through aesthetic means.
For political campaigns and communications professionals, the study suggests that short-form video edits can be “approximately as effective as professionally produced television ads” in influencing viewer perceptions, particularly among younger audiences who consume content on platforms like TikTok.
The study was conducted in June 2024, prior to Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, using a controlled experimental design with 2,807 initial respondents recruited from the online survey platform Prolific.
All images are taken from “Thirst Traps and Quick Cuts: The Effects of TikTok ‘Edits’ on Evaluations of Politicians.”
The full study is available here.