# Event Details - **Event Name**: Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political Trust - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 14 Oct, 2026 at 05:00 pm – Wed, 14 Oct, 2026 at 06:30 pm (+01:00) - **Event Description**: In this talk, Paolo Gerbaudo considers the rise of “TikTok politics” and the chronic crisis of confidence in contemporary politics.About this EventThe Leader’s Aura: Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political TrustContemporary politicians increasingly resemble social media influencers: histrionic performers accompanied by a video production team as they visit shopping malls, construction sites, factories, rural communities or interact with actual influencers. The rise of what is sometimes described as “TikTok politics” - exemplified by leftwing figures such as Zohran Mamdani in the US, Andy Burnham in the UK, and rightwing figures such as Javier Milei in Argentina and Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia - has by now been acknowledged as a marker of contemporary politics; but one which typically elicits either moralistic disapproval or instrumental admiration. I shall propose that this trend warrants serious examination, approaching it as the symptom of some of the key tendencies of contemporary politics and in particular the profound crisis of trust which affects democratic institutions. As politicians dedicate significant time to broadcasting their personas, revealing their private life the “backstage” of public addresses, they are striving hard to manufacture a resource that is extremely scarce in contemporary politics: trust. In this context, “farming aura” – accumulating charisma through online performances – becomes a means for politicians to project themselves as both capable and credible, as magnetic leaders capable of inspiring voters, and loyal representatives of their constituents. Certainly, this is not a long-term or structural solution to the chronic crisis of confidence in politics. But this trend is at least a reminder that democratic politics always involves winning over people’s trust and theatrical ability in public performance - and that this tendency is especially relevant at a time when charismatic-plebiscitary leadership is on the rise and is mediated by “vertical video” with the accompanying illusion of a "digital eye-contact" between leaders and their supporters.About the speakerPaolo Gerbaudo is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Political Science at Complutense University in Madrid and was previously a Reader in Digital Politics at King's College London where he founded the Centre for Digital Culture. He is the author of 4 books on the transformation of politics in a digital society Tweets and the Streets (2012), The Mask and the Flag (2017), The Digital Party (2019), and The Great Recoil (2021). He is currently writing a book on the politics of online sentiment. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/cambridge/online-sentiment-tiktok-charisma-and-the-crisis-of-political-trust/100001999758110340 - **Event Categories**: fitness, Art, Entertainment, Photography, literary-art, performances, science-fair - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: GBP ## Event venue details - **city**: Cambridge - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: Room SG2, Alison Richard Building - **lat**: 52.2010952 - **long**: 0.1084655 - **full address**: Room SG2, Alison Richard Building, Sidgwick Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political Trust - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/6ad4f8a5b68b9da357806f2d399af5dd9a486424ebc9cdf944ca48c957cdb8a1-rimg-w1200-h600-dc080808-gmir.jpg?v=1788854530 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political Trust being held? - **A:** Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political Trust takes place on Wed, 14 Oct, 2026 at 05:00 pm to Wed, 14 Oct, 2026 at 06:30 pm at Room SG2, Alison Richard Building, Sidgwick Site, Cambridge, United Kingdom. - **Q**: Who is organizing Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political Trust? - **A:** Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political Trust is organized by Centre of Governance and Human Rights (CGHR). ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political Trust", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events8/banners/6ad4f8a5b68b9da357806f2d399af5dd9a486424ebc9cdf944ca48c957cdb8a1-rimg-w1200-h600-dc080808-gmir.jpg?v=1788854530", "startDate": "2026-10-14T17:00:00+01:00", "endDate": "2026-10-14T18:30:00+01:00", "url": "https://allevents.in/cambridge/online-sentiment-tiktok-charisma-and-the-crisis-of-political-trust/100001999758110340", "eventStatus": "https://schema.org/EventScheduled", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Room SG2, Alison Richard Building", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "Sidgwick Site", "postalCode": "CB3 9DT", "addressLocality": "Cambridge", "addressRegion": "EN", "addressCountry": "GB" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "52.2010952", "longitude": "0.1084655" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "In this talk, Paolo Gerbaudo considers the rise of “TikTok politics” and the chronic crisis of confidence in contemporary politics.", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "availabilityStarts": "2026-09-08", "availabilityEnds": "2026-10-14T18:30:00+01:00", "validFrom": "2026-09-08", "lowPrice": "0.00", "highPrice": "0.00", "price": "0.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/cambridge/online-sentiment-tiktok-charisma-and-the-crisis-of-political-trust/100001999758110340" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "availabilityStarts": "2026-09-08", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-09-08", "url": "https://allevents.in/cambridge/online-sentiment-tiktok-charisma-and-the-crisis-of-political-trust/100001999758110340", "price": 0, "name": "General Admission" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Centre of Governance and Human Rights (CGHR)", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/centre-of-governance-and-human-rights-cghr/22804414", "description": "CGHR isan outward focused multi-disciplinary research endeavour, strongly committed to advancing thought and practice within areas of critical importance to global justice and human wellbeing in the twenty-first century.www.cghr.polis.cam.ac.uk" } ] } ] ```