What does it take to communicate politics in a world shaped by algorithms, memes, and constant online dialogue? In this […]
What does it take to communicate politics in a world shaped by algorithms, memes, and constant online dialogue?
In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Ricardo Silvestre sits down with Ahmed Kosovac,Marketing Communications Team Lead at Naša stranka and Council Member at Općina Novo Sarajevo, to unpack how digital platforms and AI are transforming the way politics is practiced and understood.
This podcast, as well as previous episodes, is available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcast, Stitcher and Spotify.
The policy paper that was produced by Boris Divković Foundation, and the basis for the Conference, How Social Media and AI Shape Europe’s Political Future – From Algorithms to Ballot, can be found here.
Welcome to the Liberal Europe podcast. I’m your host, Rikard Silvestre, and thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. For this conversation, I bring you Ahmed Kosovac. Ahmed is the marketing communications team lead at Naša Stranka in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and a council member at Općina Novo Sarajevo. This conversation was recorded right before the conference “From Algorithms to Ballots: How Social Media and AI Shape Europe’s Political Future” that happened in lovely Sarajevo, organized by our friends from the Boris Divkovic Foundation. Ahmed and I talk about the digital communication world, strategic thinking in political communication, and new tools for political campaigns. After our main conversation, please stay to hear a little more about the path that Ahmed took before I got him on the podcast. This conversation was recorded live at the offices of the Boris Divkovic Foundation. But now with no further ado, I bring you Ahmed Kosovac.
Thank you for having me.
It’s great to have you on the podcast. I was very much looking forward to this conversation, Ahmed, because you sit at the intersection of a couple of issues that are important regarding the future of democracy. In particular, since we’re at this conference about algorithms and ballots here in beautiful Sarajevo, let’s talk a little bit about the digital environment, and especially in this region. What are you seeing in the Western Balkans now regarding this frontier — communication, democracy, political debate, and the digital world?
Honestly, I don’t think there is much difference between the European Union and the Western Balkans. We see in both that the rules of political engagement have changed, and I don’t see democratic actors fully adapting on either side. I think that’s the biggest problem today, because democracy is no longer happening only in parliamentary debates — it’s happening on TikTok, and in the comment sections below the videos we post. The authoritarian actors have definitely caught up. They are very good at it. We have populists who thrive in that environment. But at the same time, I don’t see the good guys adapting fast. The bad guys are the ones reaching people. Their messages are being heard. Hopefully, we will change that. We do have some very bright examples. When I look at Europe, we have, for example, the future Prime Minister of the Netherlands and leader of D66 — you can see in the campaign that just ended that his approach was very bright and very open. He used modern communication tools to recognize the moment, and he didn’t put that power into the hands of the bad guys. I love that. He used everything available, because today, public space is not the same as a press conference. It’s completely different — it’s full of dialogue. In that sense, we need to adapt. We have some good examples in the Western Balkans as well, but I would say that political leaders here still need to adapt. They need to be more authentic, and more chill, I would say. If you want to be relatable, you really need to show yourself. If you’re trying to be very serious — “I’m in a suit kind of guy, and my job is very, very important” — then people will probably not understand your messages. The key question for democrats today is not how to defend democracy, but how to practice it in a world that’s completely digital. We need to learn how to be fast, efficient, creative, and authentic. We’re promoting the publication today, and I wrote down something that really fascinated me: it says that two-thirds of political communication on the internet today comes not from news media, but from memes, TikTok, tabloids, forums, and influencers. You really need to recognize that. We have an amazing example that ended just a few days ago — the new mayor of New York City. He recognized this. His whole campaign was basically written in memes, and people responded: “OK, this is our guy. He’s fighting against the bad guys. He is cheerful. He’s always with a smile.” His messages were heard. We’ll see about the implementation of everything he promised, but everybody could hear him, because his campaign was written in memes.
Let me interrupt you, Ahmed, because I think this is important for our listeners — particularly those tuning in to learn the craft. How dumbed-down can you go? I have a major concern: we try to be so cute and so dynamic and to connect with people, as you mentioned. But on the other hand, there is a message that has to go through.
We’re talking about AI today. It’s good and important to use new tools — use AI. Try asking it to help you communicate so that people understand what you want to say. Also ask people around you what they like and don’t like, and then craft the message to reach them.
If you’re communicating like it’s 1999, people will definitely see that. You need short, vibrant messages, and policy that is understandable to people. Some things in politics are very hard to explain — I understand that. But anything can be said in a way that people understand.
Take housing, for example. It’s a very important question, basically everywhere in Europe and around the world. If you say to people, “We will freeze the rent,” everybody will understand that. “We will put more money in your pockets” — people understand that. But if you say, “Well, we will change the regulation in order to have like 33% of people less, blah, blah, blah,” nobody will understand. People will say, “Oh, well, sometimes we don’t know.” Populists have been using that simple terminology and way of thinking for years, and people recognize it. They usually use it to promote the bad stuff — and I think more people who want to promote the good stuff need to do the same.
You just mentioned the publication — and I’ll promote it in the podcast show notes — but you said you saw a couple of very interesting outcomes. Do you want to go a little deeper into that?
What’s fascinating to me, in terms of youth — and I think it’s not just youth, it’s changing everywhere — is one piece of research in the publication that says 71% of youth view online activism as more impactful than offline effort. Imagine that: youth, who have always been responsible for changing things, today see society changing not offline, not on the streets, but in online forums, through online activism. That really fascinated me, because it’s important for us to recognize the power digital tools have today. Using AI and everything it offers is super important, especially when rules are changing every day. You have a lot of new EU regulation in this space — new rules around Meta and political advertising. If you’re not adapting to new tools, it will be very hard to thrive in this environment. The publication is important because it tells us a lot about how new technology can help us, and that we cannot live in a world where we think this is something that will come later — it’s here, it’s today. The publication features different countries and case studies. There are differences from country to country, but the main message is that everything is changing, and we really need to push through and recognize that.
We have a couple more minutes, but I really want to get into this topic because I know it’s important to you — mental health. Not only for older generations (and we have a lot of data on Facebook and elderly people), but also TikTok with younger people. You’re a Gen Z. So tell us a little bit about that. What’s your perspective on this triad — participation, particularly on social and political issues online; the torrent of changes and digital dynamics happening; and your mental health?
The publication also says that more than 50% of people who ran in the UK elections received serious threats in their comment sections. When you look at that data, you can see how hard it is for people to be exposed and online if you don’t have the tools to deal with the online world. Recently I read the amazing book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Honestly, that book hit me hard, because it talks a lot about how the world is changing, and how everything is putting kids on a path toward anxiety, depression, self-harm, and loneliness. Those numbers rose sharply when modern smartphones became popular — with the iPhone and the rise of social media as a whole. Kids today have replaced childhood with a digital childhood. What that means is that they’re learning through screens. In play-based childhood, you build confidence and resilience. In phone-based childhood, you unfortunately build anxiety and insecurity if you don’t know how to deal with it. I think we can reverse this by being more in the real world. But we also cannot reject new technologies and AI that are happening all around us. We cannot go backwards. We should not be afraid of modern tools — we need to learn how to live with them, and how to use new technology and AI so that they support us, not push us in different directions. Going briefly back to the politicians — 50 years ago, even 40 or in some places 30 years ago, communication was completely one-sided. Politicians, famous people, anybody remotely famous spoke to the masses; they said what they wanted to say, and there was no real feedback. Now you have two-sided communication. Once you post something, or say something on TV, people can react instantly. They can engage and comment — you have feedback. That’s good for democracy. People are now involved. It’s a dialogue. But at the same time, with the hate speech and radicalization happening online, it can have a real effect on mental health. We really need to keep that in mind. The main thing is to learn how to balance. The world needs to hear this and do more.
: Just stating my position briefly — I’m a little worried, and it relates to mental health: this radicalization we’re seeing in political debate online. As you mentioned, 71% of young people think that’s the environment where decisions will be made. To find consensus, to find a negotiated solution, when people are either trolling or threatening, or just not listening — only listening to their tribe — that’s something we’ll be paying close attention to on the podcast. I hope to have you back so we can go further into that topic. In the last few minutes, I want people to follow your work. Where can we find you online?
:Everywhere, I hope. I’m very active on TikTok and Instagram, and trying to be active on Facebook and LinkedIn as well. I try to create, not just consume — though, to be honest, consuming is sometimes very relaxing. My handle everywhere is Digitalni Ahmed, which translates to “Digital Ahmed.” It just shows how passionate I am about all the digital tools we have at our disposal. And maybe my last message is: let’s use those tools for good.
Wonderful. The man is Ahmed Kosovac. It was a privilege to have you on the podcast and to start this conversation. One topic we didn’t cover today, but that I’d love to pick your mind on, is microblogging for political debate — for example, Bluesky versus Twitter, something I’m spending a lot of time paying attention to. Until then, thank you so much for talking to me. To be continued.
Thank you for having me.