As of: January 15, 2024 6:10 p.m
A racist catchy tune becomes a TikTok trend. Rights are becoming more aggressive and reaching millions of young people on the social network. The police advise documenting and reporting cases in Lower Saxony.
As soon as the first distinctive notes of the pop song were heard, a group of around fifteen partygoers are said to have started singing: “Foreigners out, foreigners out.” This is reported by witnesses who were also at a Christmas party in Messingen, Emsland, where xenophobic slogans were said to have been sung. A video of the incident has not yet emerged. The partygoers presumably jumped on a TikTok trend that has its origins in the 315-inhabitant village of Bergholz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In a TikTok video from there, a group of men, presumably including the mayor’s son, shout: “Foreigners out, Germany the Germans, foreigners out.” The newspaper Katapult MV from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania reported on it in mid-October. State security is now investigating both cases.
Videos
4 Min
In an inn, guests apparently sang xenophobic lyrics. The owner expressed outrage. (01/11/2024) 4 mins
Racism as a youth trend
The racist slogan is not the original lyrics of the 23-year-old pop song “L’amour toujours” by Gigi D’Agostino. With the modified lyrics, the love song is currently experiencing a revival among young people as a new right-wing anthem. A number of party videos are now circulating from all over Germany and Austria on the short video platform TikTok. The State Criminal Police Office (LKA) has “so far become aware of individual cases” of incidents in Lower Saxony since the end of the year.
“I can’t listen to this song anymore without thinking about it”
“TikTok is a very music-driven platform,” explains Marcus Bösch, lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences (HAW) in Hamburg and TikTok expert. The algorithm means that videos from unknown users can also trigger a trend. In this case, according to Bösch, the hype was extended by another video that made reference to the original video. In it the creator said: “Wow, I can’t listen to this song anymore without thinking about it.” And that happened to a lot of people. According to Bösch, TikTok’s strength in generating catchy tunes is not a reason to classify the network as dangerous across the board.
AfD is the most popular party on TikTok
However, established politics has neglected TikTok for a long time. This created a vacuum that the AfD filled early on – with considerable success. The AfD can now claim six of the ten most popular German politician accounts. This is the result of a study by the Hamburg political consultant Martin Fuchs. The SPD and the Greens are not represented in the top 10 at all. The AfD has recognized the potential to appeal to young people without external filters or correctives. “Right-wingers use the platform to have a place to publish outside of traditional media that leads to community experiences,” says TikTok expert Marcus Bösch. For example, when people are asked to “flood the comments section of an unpopular content creator” or to strengthen and spread their own positions.
Many people under 20 use TikTok every day
The Chinese platform TikTok itself states that it carries out fact checks in the case of the Middle East conflict, wants to work with the EU or takes active action against disinformation. Lorenz Blumenthal from the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, however, assesses the current situation as less positive: “The platform has grown massively in recent years without simultaneously growing in terms of moderation and community standards.” In other words, problematic trends can continue to thrive. TikTok published official user figures for Germany for the first time last autumn. A billion people worldwide and almost 21 million – mostly very young – Germans use the app at least once a month. Almost half of all users between the ages of 12 and 19 consume their content every day, according to a SWR survey two years ago. This number is likely to be higher now.
Police: Document and report incidents
The Amadeu Antonio Foundation warns against seeing the Messingen incident as just a “drunken story at a Christmas party.” “Why didn’t the alleged perpetrators experience more opposition?” asks Lorenz Blumenthal. “There were 900 people at the Christmas party. If in the end only one person files a complaint or the DJ, if he notices the incident, doesn’t react, then this is an indictment of our democracy.” If you witness such an incident yourself, the spokesman for the Lingen police advises you to report the case and document the event with your cell phone in order to make prosecution easier. It is still uncertain whether the partygoers can be prosecuted.
Further information
In a restaurant in Messingen, guests are said to have sung xenophobic lyrics. The landlord has filed a complaint. (02/12/2024) more
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Hello Lower Saxony | 01/11/2024 | 19:30 o’clock