The adaptation of political communication to TikTok and X. Digital production strategies in Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for Mayor of New York City

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.13.27.4

Keywords:

Zohran Mamdani, Political communication, Platformization, Electoral campaign, Digital-native production, Elections, Emotions

Abstract

This study analyses Zohran Mamdani’s political communication strategies and their impact on digital engagement on TikTok and X between 4 October and 5 November 2025. It aims to examine how platformisation and native digital production shape message formats and how these strategies relate to levels of interaction and virality. Through a quantitative content analysis of 473 posts, the study examines communication strategies, message tone and the dissemination tools used on both platforms. The results reveal a predominance of positive tone, present in 72.9% of the posts, as well as differences in the strategies and formats used on TikTok and X. On X, posts featuring trending audio show a median number of views 2,763.8% higher than those using original audio. Furthermore, links are found more frequently in threads than in main posts, suggesting a differentiated content distribution strategy. The study concludes that Mamdani’s campaign demonstrates how political communication can adapt to the specific logics of each platform, combining native digital formats, politainment and dissemination strategies to enhance the visibility of and interaction with political content.

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Author Biographies

  • José Ignacio Barbasán-Carmona, University of Seville (US)

    Holds a Degree in Journalism and a Master's in Institutional and Political Communication from the University of Seville. His research specialises in political and institutional communication, European affairs, and digital strategies. He was awarded Highest Honours for both his undergraduate and master's dissertations, which focused on the impact of political leaders on social media and the platformisation of political campaigns. He is a contributor to RadiUS, participating in the European debate segment "Debatimus" from the European Documentation Centre. Furthermore, he has been a speaker at the III International Conference on European Communication, presenting research on open government, promoting pro-European culture, and new European Union communication formats for young people.

  • Sandra Méndez-Muros, University of Seville (US)

    Professor of Journalism at the University of Seville, attached to the Department of Journalism II. PhD and Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Seville. Member of the Research Group on Innovation in Journalism and Political Communication (I-PERCOMPOL) and the Institute for Communication and Culture Research (INACOM). Her areas of interest include journalistic production, technological innovation in information systems and routines, disinformation, and neurocommunication. She has published her research as articles in indexed scientific journals, book chapters and books, as well as contributions to national and international conferences. She was the academic coordinator of the Master's Program in Institutional and Political Communication (2019-2023) and since 2023 has been the academic secretary of the Department of Journalism II at the University of Seville.

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Published

2026-11-09

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 27 (2026): New narratives for political communication in the digital environment

Section

Thematic issue

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Copyright (c) 2026 José Ignacio Barbasán-Carmona, Sandra Méndez-Muros

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

The adaptation of political communication to TikTok and X. Digital production strategies in Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for Mayor of New York City. (2026). Revista De La Asociación Española De Investigación De La Comunicación, 13(27). https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.13.27.4