Qualitative research data in this article was collected from a Koi Pond study run by NinetyEight in September 2024. All names have been changed for privacy purposes. The Koi Pond is NinetyEight’s proprietary research community with over 900+ Gen Z participants. Learn more about The Koi Pond here.
With one sentence: “Kamala is brat”, Gen Z’s ears have perked up and for the first time in a long time, amidst the chaos, anxiety, and fear, we’re actually feeling… hope.
Who knew that one sentence would catalyze a political revival on social media? Prior to Kamala entering the Presidential race, the overwhelming sentiment among Gen Z is best described in two words: checked out. Now with 4 weeks to go until Election Day, the whole world is on the edge of their seats to see if history will be made, or if history repeats itself. If you’ve been paying attention to the US Elections at all, it’s likely you’ve seen a plethora of political content on social media, whether you’re intentionally tuned in or not. From brat edits, coconut audios, and fan compilations, the internet & Gen Z meme-ified Kamala Harris into virality overnight. Memes and politics are nothing new, with Donald Trump being one of the most meme-ified political figures in the world. But why does it feel different now?
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For one thing, Kamala HQ applied the most effective social media strategy - using social listening and community engagement as the drivers of their content. They used brat branding in the summer, hop on trends at the speed of lightning, create pop culture edits, hate on Trump, and meme-ify themselves. It sounds like all fun and games but with this strategy they’re essentially saying, ‘we see you and we hear you.’ Here’s how Gen Zs in our Koi Pond feel about it:
“(I feel) Hope! Something I didn't expect for my first election cycle.” – Alli, 19 years
“I think Kamala HQ has really targeted Gen Z in a way that meets us where we’re at — we want progress and hope and that’s what they are giving us through their content. This makes me personally much more inclined to keep up with election news.” – Phoebe, 18 years
“Excited but also having this out of body experience trying to figure out my own opinions vs media bias.” – Lily, 23 years
“This is so unserious, concern, chaos, laughter, some hope, some fear, very wtf” – Moni, 27 years
“I’m excited for our generation and hope that we turn out for her at the polls in November. We need energy and change back in this country.” – Sam, 24 years
Today we’re seeing a much more fragmented media landscape with information coming from a slew of channels: memes, viral TikTok videos, X conversations, podcasts, substacks, articles shared in group chats, Reels - the attention is spread far and thin. In an extremely matured social media era, it takes strategy, timing, persistence, and luck to make a dent in culture. Politics today is as much about policy as it is about likeability, and social media has become the channel that offers both.
The beauty of Kamala’s participation and integration into internet culture is that there is so much room for Gen Zs to formulate their own impressions and opinions. “Kamala is brat” for instance doesn’t mean just 1 thing. Our Gen Z Koi Ponders all interpreted it in their own ways:
“Kamala being brat is a sign that she's willing to get messy to get the work done but also knows how to have fun” – Ash, 27 years
“Kamala is brat means she’s one of us. A regular, middle class girl who’s funny and just wants the best.” – Dana, 25 years
“Kamala is brat = the same as Kamala is mother: She is our queen 🐝” – Emmy, 24 years
“Harris IS brat because she represents strong, independent young women.” – Ana, 19 years
“From what I understand about brat, it's kind of like hot girl summer, so Kamala being related to it is kind of nice and a little fun. I worry about the optics though, making it seem like her party is trendy teenage girls as opposed to educated voters. But mostly I think it's pretty fun.” - Bea, 19 years
‘Kamala is brat’ hit different to many Gen Zs in this post-Barbie-female-empowerment era where many Gen Z women in particular are adopting a GAF mindset with a DGAF attitude – a coping mechanism, you can say, for our chaotic, overstimulated lives. Yet there are a number of Gen Zs in The Koi Pond who hadn’t heard of the phrase “Kamala is brat” nor did they have any resonance with it.
Social media has historically played a dangerous role in politics with Meta and Twitter’s handling of political misinformation, election interference, false political advertising, and content moderation. This year, we’re adding TikTok as a major media player in the elections. Though efforts have been made to prevent misinformation, we are still at the mercy of the algorithm gods. At the end of the day, we’re receiving millions of voices with seemingly equal weight because they’re published on the same platforms and fed to the FYPs in equal measure. The nature of short-form content and the algorithm lends itself to oversimplification in politics and the reinforcement of our own echo chambers. So while brat seemed to take over the entire world this summer, it was also simply irrelevant to others.
As the generation raised by social media, we’re no strangers to the ramifications of social media as our main source of information. It’s why Cancel Culture exists - because we take the time to go beyond a company, brand, or person’s marketing messaging and into their actual practices. So what about with Kamala? She passed the vibe check, but has Gen Z looked further? Here’s what our Koi Ponders said:
“I know she’s supportive of Israel and kind of tries to support both Israel and Palestine which doesn’t feel like real option/solution to what’s happening. I also know she’s not for taking away abortion access.” – Hannah, 22 years
“Kamala's campaign supports first time home buyers, small businesses, and the middle-class. She supports equal rights for LGBT+ BIPOC individuals and the restoration of women's rights that have been trampled by her opponent. Her campaign is built on the values she held as a prosecutor, taking down the bad guy.” – Alex, 19 years
“Coconut tree (in all seriousness; they’re against project 2025. She’s no longer openly supporting genocide — I say openly because the US is still doing dumb things but at least she’s not calling for war publicly. She’s going to be the first BIPOC and female president. She’s openly supportive of small businesses and the communities that make up america and a few other things)” – Sandy, 24 years
Though we’re intentionally diligent with intaking information from social media, we’re not perfect and let’s face it, we’re tired. Applying the critical thinking necessary to formulate our own political opinions takes effort and more importantly, motivation - exactly what Kamala HQ’s social media efforts have recently instilled in Gen Z. What we’ve seen in this political and social media landscape is that platforms like TikTok are key for establishing positive first impressions, initial awareness, and reminders that keep the hype & excitement alive. The goal here is to incite voters to do more research, and make it incredibly easy and accessible for them to do so.
With this as the future of politics with Gen Z and social media, what does this mean for politicians and future candidates? Should they all just hop on trends too? The answer is NO. The reason this worked for Kamala is because they took what already existed in culture and owned it - her meme-ification stemmed from the people. If Tim Walz for example employed the same strategy, it would come off as “hello, fellow children” because he’d be trying too hard to be something he’s not. The boldest way to utilize social media is to say something original in your way, or to add your own value and platform to what’s already being said.
The question now becomes: can the enthusiasm from Kamala’s social media campaign turn into action this November? We at NinetyEight sure hope so.
Credible Resources for First-Time Voters:
Voter Registration Information Per State: Register to Vote
Party Platforms: Democrat, Republican, Green Party, People’s Party, Libertarian Party
Running List of Candidates & Issues: OnTheIssues
U.S. Election Poll Tracker: 538
Presidential Race Live Updates: ABC, AP
Media Bias Chart: Ad Fontes Media
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