Nicki Minaj stans are battling Republicans on TikTok

A battle of ideas is taking place, and TikTok is the arena. While TikTokers have long been sharing their beliefs on the video platform, one hashtag has united many left-wing users around a broader political project – a mass movement, if you will – and it’s all soundtracked by “Super Bass”.

The #BarbzForBernie campaign has seen a number of Nicki Minaj stans and sympathisers go on the attack against conservative TikTokers, filling their comments with Nicki verses, anti-Trump/pro-Bernie Sanders statements, and that unmissable #BarbzForBernie hashtag.

“Nicki Minaj stans on TikTok are waging an all out war on Trump supporters trying to drive them off the platform,” New York Times Styles reporter Taylor Lorenz wrote on Twitter yesterday.

As PAPER reports, the hashtag began in mid-December on Twitter, with user @usedwifi encouraging their followers to get it trending. After migrating to TikTok, it blew up this weekend, with posts generating hunreds of thousands of likes on people’s videos.

Much of the anti-Trump sentiment is directed at users like Nick Videos and the ‘Republican Hype House’ of young right-wing political TikTokers – proving that beef and drama is still a major motivating factor, as it ever was. In response, there’s a ‘Barb Hype House’ of Bernie-supported Barbz who are debating conservative users.

The question, then, is why Nicki? This much is less clear. While someone like Nicki rival Cardi B would seem like an obvious rapper candidate to rally around, given her overt pro-Bernie stance, it’s perhaps beneficial to diversify your stan base. The real route to power is by organising a broad coalition.

Check out some of the #BarbzForBernie TikToks below.