Virality of the Visual: A Content Analysis of ‘ConspiracyTok

Brittany Shivers (PhD Student) and Jiyoung Yeon (PhD Student). “Virality of the Visual: A Content Analysis of ‘ConspiracyTok.’” Accepted for presentation at the 49th annual AEJMC Southeast Colloquium regional conference, March 7-9, 2024, Lexington, KY.

Abstract: This study uses a content analysis of 100 publicly available TikTok posts from five conspiracy accounts that use AI text-to-speech technology. The goals of this study are to 1.) investigate the root of conspiracy spread on TikTok and 2.) examine the visual elements of TikTok conspiracy videos as potential predictors of virality. These visual elements will be examined in the context of Gillian Rose’s (2016) critical visual methodology framework. Through a better understanding of why conspiracy videos go viral on TikTok, it is the goal that this research will guide policymakers on how to most effectively regulate the content on TikTok and also provide insight for future interventions to combat the spread of mis(dis)information on the platform.