TikTok Trails : Decoding Human Smugglers’ Narratives in Migration Advertising

This study analyzes 117 TikTok videos posted by human smugglers to explore how visual narratives shape migration governance. Using a multimodal social semiotic approach, it shows how smugglers frame irregular migration not as dangerous but as feasible, safe, and even empowering. While these videos generate high engagement, the study does not claim they exert a direct influence on migrants’ decisions to move. Instead, it argues that their appeal strengthens a shared sense of legitimacy and solidarity between smugglers and migrants, rooted in a common understanding of migration as a necessary and justified act