Marie Heřmanová

I am a social anthropologist, currently based in Prague, Czech Republic. My primary research interest are content creators on social media – I have written about Instagram influencers and their engagement with conspiracy theories about COVID, I have also written about the notion of authenticity in social media communication and how it is used by content creators to accumulate cultural and economic capital. Many of my research respondents have left Instagram for TikTok, or expanded their brands and work to TikTok as well – so as an anthropologist devoted to fieldwork, of course I followed them. My current research looks at Czech and Ukrainian content creators on TikTok and their role in shaping the narratives about the war in Ukraine. I am convinced that TikTok is, by far, the most entertaining social media platform at the moment, but I am also convinced that it is a cultural force with a significant impact on politics, aesthetic and consumption patterns.