"Here ya go," says the video. On the right, a girl dances in her room; on the left, a boy stands in a big hat. "For all the Trump supporters I have a question to ask," the girl's text begins. "What has Trump SPECIFICALLY done to get the economy to be this good?"

Soon, the boy's answers start to appear: "Lowering corporate taxesTaxes on companies. to 21%"; "Deregulating the stock market." In 15 seconds, it is over.

This is just one among the dozens of political clips popping up on TikTok every day. With America's presidential elections drawing nearer, the majority are in support of a particular candidate: Donald Trump for the Republicans, Bernie SandersOne of the leading contenders to be the Democratic Party's candidate for US president. - or occasionally, Joe Biden - for the Democrats.

But some even manage to fit in duetting (a debate between two people with different views), even though it is over in the blink of an eye and you may have to play it several times to get the point.

With 500 million subscribers, TikTok is a social-media phenomenon. At the start, it was the most frivolous of all platforms: teenagers filming their friends falling over to their favourite song, or someone dressed as a large bird pushing custard pies into people's faces. So, how did it suddenly become serious?

Experts point to today's divisive politics. Britain saw a slew of Brexit-related posts before December's general election. In the US, President Trump's extreme policies motivated many teenagers to get involved. "I feel like I am making an impact on the election even though I can't vote," said a 17-year-old Sanders supporter called Izzy.

TikTokkers call their equivalent of political parties "hype houses", after a house in Los Angeles which a group of young social-media experts use as a base. Their leanings are usually clear from their handles: @therepublicanhypehouse is one; @liberalhypehouse another.

Sterling Cade Lewis, a 19-year-old with almost 100,000 followers, describes TikTok as "cable news for young people". Benjamin Williams, also 19, sees it as the ideal way of communicating. "A lot of political stuff is on Facebook and Twitter, but Gen ZShort for Generation Z, meaning people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s. isn't really into that stuff," he says. "With TikTok, you can put politics into comedy and have someone their age talking like they're a friend."

Some say anything which gets people interested in politics is good for democracy and, with millions using TikTok, it must be taken seriously as part of the zeitgeistA German word meaning "spirit of the age".. Comedy is a great way of grabbing attention, and these posts show how cleverly a quick-fire message can be conveyed. They are a natural extension of the sound bites used by professional politicians: you might call them "sight bites".

Others argue that it is silly and even dangerous to present serious subjects in this way. To understand them properly, you need to explore them in detail and hold a proper debate. An arena with no room for
nuanceWhen an issue has fine distinctions; is subtle. is an ideal place to spread misinformation: sound bites allow politicians to express their views without being made to justify them properly. The same is true of TikTok.

Corporate taxes - Taxes on companies.

Bernie Sanders - One of the leading contenders to be the Democratic Party's candidate for US president.

Gen Z - Short for Generation Z, meaning people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Zeitgeist - A German word meaning "spirit of the age".

Nuance - When an issue has fine distinctions; is subtle.