How Digital Campaigning is Shaping Elections – From TikTok to AI

robot hand holding a phone on the tiktok app

Date: 29 January 2025 The way political campaigns operate has changed dramatically with the rise of digital tools. In an episode of the Campaign Lab podcast, Kate Dommett, Professor of Digital Politics at the University of Sheffield, shared her insights into the evolving digital landscape in politics. From TikTok to AI, her analysis of the […]

After Trump: What Campaign Lessons Might a Trump Victory Offer Progressives?

Reflecting on lessons from Trump’s 2024 victory, a new progressive playbook must focus on mobilising low-turnout voters, building hyperlocal trust, empowering decentralised messengers, creating stronger feedback loops with communities, and embracing continuous experimentation. Research from Campaign Lab shows that local engagement, authentic personal narratives, and grassroots-driven innovation will be key to navigating political volatility and rebuilding democratic trust.

The Truth About Voter Turnout: What Can We Actually Learn From Over 100 Voter Turnout Experiments?

At Campaign Lab’s first academic series session, LSE’s Florian Foos shared findings from a major analysis of 122 GOTV experiments, revealing that campaigns are most effective when targeting middle-propensity voters (40–60% likelihood of voting). While door-to-door canvassing is highly effective in the US, results are mixed in Europe, and text messaging shows strong promise despite data challenges. The session underscored the need for more UK-specific research to build an evidence-based approach to campaigning.

Here’s 5 Things You Should Know About Relational Campaigning

VoteRev’s Evie Monnington-Taylor, shares key lessons for effective relational campaigning were shared: be personal and natural in communications, ensure mobilisers follow through, time messages carefully, use technology to streamline efforts, and target hard-to-reach audiences through trusted relationships.

What Makes TikTok Tick?

robot hand holding a phone on the tiktok app

A report that explores over 13,000 videos posted since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister (October 2022), and provides valuable insights for campaigners, politicians, media analysts, and progressive organisations.

AI and Campaigning Report

A practical guide exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping political campaigning, with clear strategies for using AI tools ethically and effectively.

Open Council Datasets

A library of over 8000 leaflets, partially classified by ChatGPT Vision.

This site contains open council data including: UK Councillors by Year, 50 Years+ of GB Council Compositions and a List of UK Parties.