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Singapore’s first social media PM: can Lawrence Wong win Gen Z votes or will he become ‘just a meme’?
- Wong has transformed his social media presence in recent years to appeal more to youth, as attested by his TikTok base of 120,000 followers
- If he hopes to win over the Gen Z segment in the next general election, he needs to rule on social media, according to analysts
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Why you can trust SCMP
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Lawrence Wong’s first foray into TikTok in June 2020 was a 51-second video of him in a white collared shirt wishing netizens a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, with barely legible font and no pop track in the background.
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For most Gen Zs, the clip broke multiple rules of social media. No music? Meh. No fun stuff or funny emojis? Double meh. Dragging on for almost a whole minute? Triple meh. The numbers showed their indifference, with only over 600 likes and eight comments.
But attribute that to a rookie mistake. Since then, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong’s TikToks have almost completely transformed – with sleek transitions and beat-heavy pop songs, most of which run no longer than 30 seconds. He has close to 120,000 followers and is averaging thousands of likes per TikTok clip.
If Wong hopes to win over youth in the coming general election, which could happen as early as this year, he needs to rule on social media, according to analysts.
The 51-year-old will not only be the first prime minister of Singapore born in the post-independence period, but also one whose political ascendancy has relied on and will continue to depend heavily on the wild world of social media.
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The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) knows this and has spent the last two decades trying to conquer the various platforms. The government regularly makes major announcements over social media alongside mainstream channels.
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