How We’re Turning Memes Into Momentum
Meet Aly and Hannah and learn how we’re engaging the next generation of voters through TikTok.
Hi all!
We are Aly McCormick, Vertical Platforms Manager, and Hannah Merrick, Vertical Video Producer, at the DNC. Our job is to build and cultivate our vertical video program, with a large emphasis on increasing our reach among young Americans on TikTok.
Hannah Merrick (left) and Aly McCormick (right) speaking about their work at a local college.
As a new generation of Americans becomes eligible to vote, the Democratic Party recognizes the importance of meeting young people where they’re at — online! With so many people scrolling, it’s important we tailor our content and mission to ‘fit in’ on the internet. This way, we can connect with young Americans who might otherwise not be politically inclined or active. Making politics accessible to young voters is one of our top priorities and a leading reason why we place such emphasis on our TikTok program!
To reach these voters, we follow trending topics and engage with cultural moments to spread the Democratic message. We are always strategizing on unique ways to link trending audio to the current news cycle and to find creative ways to poke fun at the Trump administration. The goal is to highlight the destruction MAGA policies have caused for Americans everywhere.
To do this properly, we spend a lot of time online to ensure we have a proper grasp of what the internet is talking about. Otherwise, our content may come off as inauthentic and miss the mark of what we’re trying to accomplish.
Recent Wins Online
One of our more successful stories has been our video highlighting prominent Democrats to the KATSEYE song “Gnarly.” This video used a popular song that was trending on TikTok and combined it with the Democratic brand and its most powerful messengers. This video got 838k likes and 4.4 million views.
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Kahoot, a game-based learning platform, was a prominent learning tool for Gen Z in the classroom. We capitalized on that by taking a Trump clip from November 2025, where he called a reporter a “piggy,” and turning it into an interactive game that Gen Z could resonate with. Not only did this resurface the older Trump clip, but it was also a massive hit, garnering 8.1 million likes and 45 million views. As of now, it is our most liked TikTok!
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The last success story we’ll share is a video highlighting Rep. Seth Magaziner’s confrontation of Kristi Noem’s deportation of an American war veteran by bringing him to the hearing via a Zoom call. This showed our young audience that Democrats are constantly fighting against the Trump administration’s dehumanizing actions. This video got 905k likes and 6 million views, making it one of our most successful clips overall.
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These videos are a success story of how digital content is shaping the political landscape. We’ve reached millions of current and potential voters through TikTok to educate them about the party and current events through media that resonates with them. This will continue to be critical as we approach November.
Bringing Breaking News Into the Algorithm
Aly and Hannah with DNC Rapid Platforms Manager McKinley Lettre (right)
Beyond the Democrats’ TikTok, we also run an account for FactPostNews, which we launched in May. FactPost is the DNC’s rapid response social media operation. Through this brand, we are able to post news and content that pushes forward the Democratic mission, without being directly affiliated with the Democrats’ traditional platform.
While the Democrats’ account uses more fun, meme-based formats, we use FactPost to focus on breaking news and holding the Trump administration accountable. FactPost has been an innovation project as we learn how to keep news relevant on an app like TikTok. Since the platform isn’t typically used as a traditional news outlet, we’ve done a lot of trial and error to make this breaking news format resonate.
Why Grassroots Support Matters
Since we started at the DNC, the Democrats’ TikTok account has skyrocketed from 2.9 million followers to 5.7 million followers. This sort of growth isn’t just an accident. We are laser-focused on reaching young voters nationwide and delivering the message that the Democratic Party will fight for all Americans.
We couldn’t do this work without the millions of supporters who watch, like, and share our content each day. Engagement from grassroots supporters like you allows us to amplify our work and ensure young Democrats know they have a place in the party. Leading up to this year’s midterms, turning out the youth vote is more important than ever. Your support powers this critical work.
Hannah and Aly celebrating hitting five million followers on TikTok
Every single day, the Trump administration shows that they have no real interest in moving the country forward. The younger generations are our future, and it is our job to show them that they are the blueprint of a better future for our country, and we don’t take that lightly.
If you’re interested in seeing our content, make sure to check out @Democrats and @FactPostNews on TikTok.
See you online!
Sincerely,
Aly and Hannah
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