THE IMPACT OF FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND YOUTUBE AS EMERGING MEDIA OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

CHAPETR ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION 

1.1        Background of the study

1.2        Statement of problem

1.3        Objective of the study

1.4        Research Hypotheses

1.5        Significance of the study

1.6        Scope and limitation of the study

1.7       Definition of terms

1.8       Organization of the study

CHAPETR TWO

2.0   LITERATURE REVIEW

 

CHAPETR THREE

3.0        Research methodology

3.1    sources of data collection

3.3        Population of the study

3.4        Sampling and sampling distribution

3.5        Validation of research instrument

3.6        Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introductions

4.2 Data analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Summary

5.3 Conclusion

5.4 Recommendation

Appendix

Abstract

The study basically examined the impact of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube as an emerging media of political communication in the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria.   The emergency and proliferation of social media otherwise known as citizen media in this digital era have revolutionalised the socio- economic and particularly political development of Nigeria. It offers platform for political debates, political campaign and political mobilization. Survey research method was adopted in which data were collected among Researchcage University students using questionnaire. Four hundred (200) questionnaires were distributed, out of which, one hundred and thirty three (133) copies were retrieved and analysed. Findings show that many of the respondents maintained that, they participated in the 2015 election while they also search and participated in political debate and discussions on social media before, during and after the election with many served as voters during the 2015 elections. In the same vein, social networking usage during the election was very high for the first time in Nigeria political history, no wonder many submitted that their participation in the election was as a result of the online discussion platform such as facebook and twitters.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

The influence of new media technology in political communication across the globe cannot be overemphasized. In recent times, the social media are playing a dominant role in political mobilization, participation and electioneering campaigns in both developed and developing countries across the continent of the world. It is on record that since President Barrack Obama of the United State of America efficient use of the social media, there has been a growing use of new media technologies in facilitating political communication in contemporary times. Obama’s victory is largely attributed to the massive deployment of social media by his campaign organization which provided inspiration to other world leaders. For instance, President Goodluck Jonathan and other political candidates equally used the social media to execute their political campaign during the 2011 presidential elections. Throughout history, political campaigns have evolved around the advancing technologies that are available to political candidates. As technology develops, politicians are able to deploy them to facilitate the dissemination of their manifestos (Emruli & Baca, 2011 p. 155). In Nigeria, the 2011 general elections were the first litmus test of the use of social media by political parties, political candidates, and the civil society organizations. The election was historic in the sense that it was the first time ever that new media technologies like Facebook, Blogs, LinkedIn and other social networks facilitated political communication and participation in Nigeria (Dagona, Karick, & Abubakar, 2013, p.2). Thus, these new media technologies have redefined methods of political communication in contemporary times and thereby led to significant shift towards the utilization of these modern tools in the electoral process. This new paradigm shift has challenged previous methods used for political communication where television, radio and newspapers dominated coverage of political campaigns, and thus became the primary source of election-related information. However, today, the social media have become a major avenue where political parties and candidates connect with the electorate to share vital information about their policies, programmes and manifestos. Because of the ease, reach and speed associated with the social media, it has become a tool revolutionizing the field of political communication globally The social media has become almost an inseparable part of human life in places where they exist. In recent times, social media have evolved new forms of democracy, government, and have become a clear and more effective voice of many. In fact, social media have influences on all spheres of human life. The impacts of the social media are felt most in the 2015 general elections. It was felt in the electioneering processes-campaign, and eventually the polling procedures. According to Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (2012), the 2011 elections in Nigeria witnessed a remarkable use of the social media as a tool for political communicaton. It was used for campaigns via personal websites, blogs, all social media applications, and several other media. Aside from this, the social media was equally used as a weapon to undermine and even destroy the image of „other‟ political parties, especially the People‟s Democratic Party and All Progressive Party. In the 2015 general election, the social media became more potent tool and even a more lethal weapon. There are releases in the form of videos, voice notes, headlines, and broadcasts that made and mar many political parties and individuals. For example, a publication on Senator Buruji Kashamu almost marred his political ambition and eventually his swearing in. A hate video was broadcasted on both General Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Bola Tinubu. Ordinarily, these videos might have ended the political ambitions of these individuals in some other places. The social media have become the most accessible source of information, particularly in the last two general elections. Before the day of the election, the social media disseminated many messages to the public that went viral. The social media communicated to the public a lot of information that could have caused unrest in some volatile nations. For example, the social media gave other reasons for the postponement of the election from February 14, 2015 to March 28, 2015 aside from the unpreparedness of Independent National Electoral Commission. Reasons that made the public believed that the postponement was to the advantage of the ruling party as it would provide the opportunity for the ruling party to manipulate the election in such a way that the power of the electorates would amount to nothing This 3 sort of report can cause anarchy in some volatile countries, that are not stable. Nigeria not being totally exceptional in this case. The social media pass information freely, because they are unregulated. The information can come in the form of broadcast on social media application, like WhatsApp and BBM, blogs; or even text messages. With the unregulated nature of the social media, it is certain that many of the information are not subject to scrutiny and may be conjured, misrepresentation, or even misinformation. These traces of misinformation were felt in the opinion polls, releases of early results, until the panic was subdued by the tension–easing tactic adopted by the Independent National Electoral Communisison (INEC). With the tactics, the tension created by the social media was adequately handled and it diminished gradually. This paper is discussing the roles played by the social media in making or marring the entity „„Nigeria‟‟ in the 2015 general elections, with specific interest in the presidential election. Social media have become an integral part of public discourse and communication in the contemporary society. The fast development of social media has caused major changes pertaining the way people find groups of individuals with similar interests, the nature of information, the available news sources, or the possibility to require and share ideas (Stieglitz, Dang-Xuan, 2012: 1). It has had major effects on fields such as advertising, public relations, communications, and political communication (Husain et al, 2014: 224). More recently, the prominence of social media has been particularly highlighted in politics, given the fact that the use of social networking sites (Facebook) and microblogging services (Twitter) are believed to have the potential of positively influencing political participation (Stieglitz, Dang-Xuan, 2012: 1). For instance, the 2008 USA presidential elections remained in history for the unprecedented use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube (Paletz et al., 2015: 259). The use of social media within the presidential campaign in 2008 was also continued and even amplified in the 2012 presidential campaign, when both Obama and Romney spent a considerable amount of money on social media (in particular Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Pinterest), with the specific purpose of reaching the young generation. Potential voters extensively engaged in these social media platforms by posting, commenting, video-sharing and even the mainstream media covered the social media war between the two campaigns (Paletz et al., 2015: 276). Furthermore, social networking sites have been used to mobilise individuals to protest all over the world. Some examples are the London youth demonstrations of 2011, due to the high level of unemployment among young adults, the 2009 Iranian protests against the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Carlisle and Patton, 2013: 883), or the Egyptian social movements augmented by Twitter and Facebook, when President Mubarak shut down the Internet for five days (Yang, 2013: 709). But does this engagement visible on social media platforms have an impact on traditional forms of political participation? Various scholars interested in electoral campaigns, investigated the effects of new media use on political participation. Some researchers discovered that the Internet may encourage political participation (Bucy & Gregson, 2001; Corrado, 1996; Grossman, 1999; Johnson & Kaye, 2003; Shah et al., 2005; Whillock, 1997). In addition, some results have shown that the use of social networking sites, in particular, increased traditional offline engagement, such as voting (Bakker and de Vreese, 2011), donations and fundraising (Vitak et al, 2011). Conversely, other researchers have revealed that the use of social networking sites is not at all linked to higher levels of political participation (Baumgartner & Morris, 2010, Davis, 1999; Davis & Owen, 1998; Margolis & Resnick, 2000; Putnam, 2000).

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

When it comes to the young generation, numerous studies suggest that, by traditional measures, they are less engaged in politics (in terms of voting, contributing money, volunteering time, or showing up to a protest meeting) than older citizens (Bauerlein, 2008; Mindich, 2005; Wattenberg, 2007). Despite the fast development of the Internet, little attention has been paid to how young adults use social networking sites to engage in politics (Baumgartner, Morris: 2010: 24). Do they use these social networking platforms to gain knowledge and actually participate in politics? This question raises attention because young people, who are generally not involved in politics, have now the opportunity to be exposed to and to engage in politically-related subjects within their online networks, on which they are generally active (Baumgartner, Morris: 2010: 25). It in in view of this that the researcher intend to investigate the impact of Facebook, twitter and YouTube as emerging media of political communication in the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria.

• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of Facebook, twitter and YouTube as emerging media of political communication in the 2015 presidential election. But to aid the successful completion of the study; the researcher intends to achieve the following specific objective;

1. To investigate the impact of Facebook in political communication in Nigeria
2. To examine the role of social media in the electioneering process

• To examine the effect of social media in communicating political ideology in Nigeria

1. To examine the relationship between new emerging media and the old media in the fort coming presidential election
   • RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

To aid the completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;

H₀: Facebook does not have any significant effect on political communication in Nigeria

H₁: Facebook does have a significant effect on political communication in Nigeria

H₀²: social media does not play any significant role in the electioneering process in Nigeria

H₂: social media does play a significant role in the electioneering process in Nigeria

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Being a relatively new field in the ever-dynamic field of communication in Nigeria, the study will provide additional knowledge on the subject matter. It is hoped that the study in its practical value will educate politicians and political parties on the importance of social media in contemporary political communication, since social media tools are yet to be fully explored for political campaigns in Nigeria. Also, this study will provide insights to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and civil society organizations in designing programmes that would promote the use of new media technologies in the political process in Nigeria. Lastly, the findings of this study would serve as a springboard for future research in the field of political communication

• SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the impact of Facebook, YouTube and twitter as emerging media of political communication in the 2015 presidential election. But in the cause of the study, there were some factors which militate against the scope of the study;

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) FINANCE: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover

1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Twitter

Twitter is an online news and social networking service on which users post and interacts with messages known as “tweets

Facebook

Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service company based in Menlo Park, California

YouTube

YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees.

Social media

Social media are computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks

• ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study its based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

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