Algorithmic Bias and the Aesthetics of Electability: Reception, Remix, and Kamala Harris on TikTok

This study examines the circulation, remix, and reception of TikTok content about Kamala Harris during the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. Using feminist technical communication and qualitative interpretive analysis, I investigate how algorithmic visibility shaped supportive and hostile reception across memes, remixes, authenticity judgments, misogynoir, sexualization, and racialized attacks. I develop the concept of the aesthetics of electability to demonstrate how digital visibility can enable political identification while intensifying decontextualization, scrutiny, and constraints on political legitimacy.