TikTok reels in voters for far right ahead of German election

Chinese platform says it has tried to cut harmful content, address Europe's fears

20250213 Yuna TikTok.jpeg

Yuna, 14, says her TikTok account often shows her anti-immigrant memes and videos. (Photo by Jens Kastner) 

JENS KASTNER and MAILYS PENE-LASSUS

HAMBURG, Germany/PARIS -- When 14-year-old Yuna opens her TikTok app, the teenager in Hamburg is besieged by endless videos of German far-right leader Alice Weidel, anti-immigrant memes and racist comments that have gained thousands of blue-heart emojis.

Roughly 900 kilometers away in the upscale Opera district in Paris, one of our reporters opened a TikTok account recently for this story and was shown -- unprompted -- within five minutes an anti-abortion video featuring French far-right politician Marion Marechal.

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