The Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 20 June was underwhelming. The Bank of Oklahoma Center wasn't even half full. According to The New York Times, fire marshalls reported only 6,200 attendees’ tickets were scanned. How was it possible that so few turned up when more than a million tickets had been requested?
We now know it was the work of huge but underestimated segments of US internet subculture: TikTokers and K-pop ‘stans’. The first are users of TikTok, an app where one-minute videos can be shared; the second are fans of Korean pop music, which has dominated Western music charts since the early 2010s. They torpedoed Trump’s rally by sharing how to register for free tickets and encouraging people to not attend.
This is the ‘Gen Z’ way of making a difference. Many young Americans feel unheard. Without a vote and so with little choice over who their president is, they found a subversive way of getting their voices heard. The young people of today know how to use social media platforms to get the most exposure and are skilled in turning algorithms to their own benefit.
