Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Ana Teixeira Pinto

Thesis: Squatting The Algorithm: Platform-specific Political Participation on TikTok

July 2025

Abstract

This thesis explores how TikTok's unique algorithmic architecture creates space for new forms of digital activism, using Pro-Palestine content as a case study. It examines innovative tactics such as fundraising filters, disguised content, and collective boycotts that have emerged in response to the platform's logic centered around its recommendation system. Building on earlier forms of digital media activism and using concepts like "clustered publics” or “algorithmic imaginary” the study describes The research demonstrates how activists adapt their strategies to TikTok's playful, recommendation-driven environment through analysis of viral campaigns like Operation Olive Branch, Blockout 2024, the watermelon filter, and algorithmic squatting (disguising political content). These examples point out both the creative potential and systematic limitations of platform-specific activism, being part of a broader conversation about digital participation and political expression in algorithm-driven spaces. It argues that contemporary political participation on TikTok requires a form of ”ludo-literacy”, where users not only share content but also utilize their knowledge and understanding of the platform's algorithmic structure. This approach looks at activism as a game-like subversion, transforming everyday actions like blocking, filtering, or consciously misusing hashtags into politicized engagements. The thesis suggests that users act as ”playbourers” who repurpose their unpaid digital labor for collective action, representing an attempt to "squat the commodified space of social media" and challenge platform affordances within the system.

Author: Eszter Dobos