After Donald J. Trump was found guilty on all 34 felonies in a hush trial in a New York court, TikTok users took to the platform's live streaming feature to discuss the verdict.
For several hours from late Thursday night to Friday morning, thousands of people around the world tuned in to the stream and listened to armchair pundits, political commentators, lawyers and even Michael D. Cohen.
Mr. Cohen, a key witness in the criminal case against his former boss, Mr. Trump, had already been using the platform to speak to the public throughout the trial. (Earlier this month, Judge Juan M. Merchan ordered prosecutors to inform Mr. Cohen that he would “refrain from making further statements regarding this case.”)
On Thursday night, Mr. Cohen announced his victory on a TikTok live stream, with many social media users praising his testimony and sending him blue hearts. He also invited other users to join his stream and chat directly.
“To put it mildly, I'm a fan. It's kind of weird,” one user told Cohen. “I think you have done America a very solid service.”
Not everyone was so positive. Another user on the livestream was dissatisfied with the outcome of the trial and asked why he thought the jury sided with the prosecution.
“There were so many flaws in the defense strategy, because as someone who has watched this happen over and over again for over 10 years with Donald, he should not be dictating the defense,” Mr. Cohen responded. “As a lawyer, it is very difficult to handle these cases. Now you are dealing with cases like this where the representation is based on the wishes and demands of the client.”
During TikTok live streams, viewers can send digital gifts in the form of cartoon items such as roses, lightning, and dinosaurs, which can be exchanged for monetary payments on the platform. Sometimes the gifts were cartoonish, like an elephant's trunk or furry kitten ears with Mr. Cohen's talking face.
Elsewhere on TikTok, a small group of users discussed the outcome of the trial. Christian Reeves, a personal injury attorney in Jacksonville, Fla., who runs a modest TikTok with 17,000 users, spent much of the evening reading news stories about the trial to his viewers via livestream.
According to the Pew Research Center, about one-third of young people ages 18 to 29 say they get their news from TikTok these days. Acting as a de facto news gatherer, Ms. Creators like Reeves are becoming increasingly popular.
Reeves, 35, said in an interview Friday that he uses the live stream several times a week to discuss political and current events related to his work as a lawyer. She has been quietly gathering and following news about the trial for weeks.
Reeves said he wanted to help people better understand what happened during the trial, noting that many users were vague about the facts.
“Some people don’t really get it because they ask, ‘It’s not a crime to pay the entrance fee,’” she said, “and I say, ‘Yes, but!’”
Mr. Reeves added that he tried to remain bipartisan in his livestreams.
“I usually try to choose about four sources and I like to read from all sides,” she said. “You'll read it on CNN. You'll read it on Fox News. You'll read it on the Associated Press. You'll read it on the New York Times.”
During Thursday's livestream, an article from NBC floated on the screen behind her head as Ms. Reeves read and commented.
Link Lauren, a political influencer who previously served as a senior advisor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign, also went live on TikTok Thursday night. Like Ms. Reeves, Ms. Lauren, who is 25 years old and has nearly 500,000 TikTok followers, also found that many people watching her own livestream had not been informed about her trial.
“Most Americans are busy with work. They’re busy with their kids’ school,” Lauren said in an interview Friday morning, echoing comments she shared on TikTok the night before. “They can go to the football game and do many things. They may be caring for a sick relative. “The majority of Americans don’t have time to focus on these clinical trials.”
During the live stream, Lauren encourages viewer participation from across the political spectrum.
“I don’t want to live in an echo chamber,” he said. “So I agree with you. I do not agree. “There is room for everyone on my page.”
Still, he said he noticed a pattern among Thursday night's audience.
“I got a lot of DMs from people saying, ‘I’m a disaffected Democrat,’ or ‘I’m an independent, but this is the first time I’ve donated to Donald Trump,’” he said.
He said many of those people were thinking of voting for Mr. Trump.