Rocking the Country: How the Freedom Convoy Characterized Far-right Populism on Tiktok

This study investigates how Tiktok is a powerful platform for amplifying far-right populism. Research from the academic community signaled that many online cultures have grown out of Tiktok; unfortunately, not all are positive. This recognition for research provides an opportunity to investigate how a social and political culture of far-right populism has become a more visible force in Canada with the appearance of the Freedom Convoy in Winter 2022. The data for this study is collected through a mixed-methods approach of a Walkthrough method and content analysis of hashtags #freedomconvoy and #freedomconvoy2022. By analyzing the findings through a philosophical, theoretical framework of affective publics, this study demonstrates the Freedom Convoys' ability to capture their pride, anger, and distrust through Tiktok's unique visual representation and audio overlay to spread messaging that characterizes far-right populism.