On the platform, the rebellious deputy, Antoine Léaument, meets with Net success

He has 97,000 subscribers on TikTok and his videos have several thousand to several million views. @aleaument is neither a humorist nor a beauty influencer, but a member of La France insoumise. Antoine Léaument, his real name, shares videos almost daily on the social network of excerpts from sessions at the National Assembly, discussions with the opposition in committee, appearances on a morning radio show or even deciphering in front of the camera of a hot topic.

And for good reason, the man is far from being a beginner when it comes to TikTok. This elected official from the tenth district of Essonne is none other than the former head of digital communication for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, at the head of the strategy for the presidential candidate in 2022 on TikTok and Twitch. Most recently, the deputy also launched a transpartisan study group on social networks in the National Assembly, of which he took the presidency. Why did the platform seduce the parliamentarian? What message does he want to convey? And why is his account so successful? For the knowledge, 20 minutes asked the question asked the question to the main person concerned: Antoine Léaument.

Why did you create a TikTok account?

Before being elected deputy in the 10th district of Essonne, I was in charge of digital communication for Jean-Luc Mélenchon. I opened my TikTok account at the same time as I created his, in 2021, to share content, video extracts. In the beginning, I always did everything in duplicate to test content on my account before publishing it on his. But whether for Jean-Luc Mélenchon or for myself, since I became a deputy, I have always had the same strategy: to be present on all social networks. Because each platform has a type of audience. In the end, now everyone uses at least one social network, be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok. It’s a bit like the media, some only watch TF1, never M6 or BFMTV. It’s the same there. The goal, by being present everywhere, is to reach the widest possible spectrum.

Do you publish the same content on all social networks?

Not quite. Each social network has its own grammar, its particular language. For example, the grammar is a bit the same for TikTok and Instagram, which is why I publish almost the same content on both platforms.

But it is true that TikTok has some very interesting features. First, its algorithm offers its users content that it thinks will interest them. So I reach people who don’t follow me but who are potentially interested in politics or current events. Moreover, these people do not always share my ideas or do not necessarily agree with me. That’s interesting. Above all, the algorithm offers new content. That is to say, you can have videos of cats, and suddenly you come across one of my videos. It allows me to reach a large audience, which I could not have reached with the traditional media or meetings.

What are you looking for when posting content on TikTok?

For me, TikTok – and this goes for all other social networks – is not a communication tool but an information one. My videos are there to inform about what La France insoumise stands for, the measures that we demand or those of the government that we denounce. These are videos around topics that concern pension reform, wage increases, students, farmers or tolls. It speaks to people.

Do you hope people buy into your ideas with these videos?

It is not the goal. TikTok gives me the chance that my message will be viewed by as many people as possible, whether they agree with me or not. Even among people who don’t share my ideas, it can arouse interest in knowing more. And sometimes, that can convince them, and make them want to become activists, to get involved with us.

For example, in 2017, we published on the Facebook account of Jean-Luc Mélenchon a video of his first ten bars if elected. It has 15 million views. A few days later, I am in Paris, near Les Halles. I come across a man who distributes leaflets for Jean-Luc Mélenchon. He told me that he had seen the video, that he agreed with all the measures and that he wanted to help him become president.

But is the platform really suitable for political content?

Indeed, political subjects are not always the sexiest content in the world. They have to be adapted to the platform. You have to add a little humor, because it’s part of the character of TikTok. Besides, if we don’t do it, we are out of step with what people expect from this platform, what they come for. Afterwards, all the difficulty is to find the right balance between the tone wanted by TikTok and the seriousness of my function. It is necessary to be well in the codes, but not to bite the line in a way which could be degrading for the function.

Does it also allow you to reach a younger audience, to get younger people interested in politics?

It is certain that young people favor TikTok more than other social networks. But I reject the idea that young people are not interested in politics. It is enough to look at what is happening in the streets these last days, it is the demonstration that they are interested in it. We see that there is a young political generation expressing itself in the street. Many of them have become politicized on social networks elsewhere.

Why did you launch a study group on social networks at the Assembly?

When I arrived at the National Assembly in June 2022, I found it crazy that there was no study group on the subject. There are groups for everything, but not for that. However, there is hardly anyone left who does not use at least one social network. So, with this study group, of which I have taken the presidency, we are going to get on the subject. Four themes have been defined: the impact of algorithms on information capacity, public health issues, the practices of influencers and the regulation of the sector and finally the question of the security of these platforms.

What do you think of France’s decision to ban “recreational applications” on the phones of state officials?

It is rather a good thing that the State protects itself against potential flaws. But, if we go that way, it should be applied to all citizens and to all applications. All platforms can present security risks. Moreover, at the beginning, we focused on TikTok but, now, we have understood that all social networks are considered to be at risk. This raises the question of their use. Moreover, this questioning of security breaches is a priority theme that we want to address with this study group.

source site