Gen Z for Change is a left-of-center political advocacy organization that promotes Democratic Party campaigns and left-of-center causes through a network of social media influencers who have large online followings. The group was founded as “Tik Tok For Biden” during the 2020 election and was organized with the goal of promoting Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign on emerging social media platform Tik Tok.

The group since rebranded as Gen Z for Change and continued to lend support to Democratic campaigns during 2021 U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia and the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race. The group also partnered with Anthony Fauci to promote the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and worked with Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ group FairFight. The group has also become a stakeholder group in the Biden administration and made headlines when its influencers received a private briefing from the Biden White House on its response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. ^{1 2}

Background

Gen Z for Change was founded during the 2020 election cycle. The group formed as a loose coalition of over 400 content creators in the “generation Z” demographic of those born between roughly 1997 and 2012. The group was initially known as Tik Tok for Biden and focused on promoting the campaign of now-President Joe Biden. ³

Activity

Following the 2020 election, the group rebranded as Gen Z for Change, renaming its Tik Tok account that grew during the 2020 election and launched a website and profiles on most other social media platforms. The group then organized for the campaigns of Senate candidates Jon Ossof (D) and Raphael Warnock (D) in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff elections in January 2021, and partnered with groups including Stacey Abrams’ FairFight, Climate Power, and MTV. The group also worked with Anthony Fauci to promote the COVID-19 vaccine rollout on social media. ⁴

In November 2021, the group formally incorporated as a 501(c)(4) advocacy group. The group’s activity mostly consists of promoting Democratic candidates, left-of-center public policies, and Biden administration priorities including the Build Back Better proposals. ⁵

Associated Organizations

According to its website, Gen Z for Change has used its network of social media influencers to work with advocacy groups and organizations including the Harvard Institute of Politics, Climate Power, the Biden-Harris Campaign, Accountable Tech, 51 for 51, MTV, March On, the International Refugee Assistance Project, and Made to Save. ⁶

Policy Stances

Gen Z for Change supports many left-of-center and far-left policy proposals. The group supports a ban on natural gas drilling by hydraulic fracturing, the increased use of weather-reliant energy such as wind turbines and solar panels, abolishing the death penalty, the elimination of cash bail, the decriminalization of all drugs, and the defunding of police department budgets. ^{7 8}

The group also endorses single-payer government-controlled healthcare, student loan debt cancellation, and taxpayer-funded college tuition. ⁹

White House Briefings

Gen Z for change has received multiple private briefings from the Biden administration White House in hopes of the group’s influencers sharing the administration’s talking points on social media. The group lists the White House as well as the Biden-Harris Inaugural Committee as partners, and the group received a briefing on the administration’s Build Back Better Act in 2021 to promote the legislation on social media. ^{10 11}

In 2022, the group received a private briefing regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine that later was parodied on “Saturday Night Live.” The stated purpose of the briefing was to promote the White House’s talking points around the invasion, particularly to highlight potential ramifications of the United States establishing a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine. ¹²

1. Latu, Dan. “They started making TikToks for Joe Biden. Now Gen Z For Change wants to wield real political clout.” Daily Dot. November 10, 2022. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/gen-z-for-change/
2. Needleman, Sarah and Seetharaman, Deepa. “TikTok Influencers Get Spotlight in Information Battle Over the Russia-Ukraine War.” March 13, 2022. Accessed March 16, 2022.
3.  Latu, Dan. “They started making TikToks for Joe Biden. Now Gen Z For Change wants to wield real political clout.” Daily Dot. November 10, 2022. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/gen-z-for-change/
4.  ^[1] Latu, Dan. “They started making TikToks for Joe Biden. Now Gen Z For Change wants to wield real political clout.” Daily Dot. November 10, 2022. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/gen-z-for-change/
5.  “Our Work.” Gen Z for Change. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://genzforchange.org/our-work/
6. “Our Work.” Gen Z for Change. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://genzforchange.org/our-work/
7. Latu, Dan. “They started making TikToks for Joe Biden. Now Gen Z For Change wants to wield real political clout.” Daily Dot. November 10, 2022. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/gen-z-for-change/
8. “Issues: Climate Justice.” Gen Z for Change. Accessed July 28, 2022. https://genzforchange.org/issues/
9. “Our Work.” Gen Z for Change. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://genzforchange.org/issues/
10. “Our Work.” Gen Z for Change. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://genzforchange.org/issues/
11. Latu, Dan. “They started making TikToks for Joe Biden. Now Gen Z For Change wants to wield real political clout.” Daily Dot. November 10, 2022. Accessed March 19, 2022. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/gen-z-for-change/
12. Needleman, Sarah and Seetharaman, Deepa. “TikTok Influencers Get Spotlight in Information Battle Over the Russia-Ukraine War.” March 13, 2022. Accessed March 16, 2022.