Political Misinformation and Disinformation on Social Media: A Study of the 2023 Gubernatorial Election in Lagos State (Published)
Social media has emerged as a highly influential platform in various facets of the society, including the political landscape. Although misinformation and disinformation have been present prior to the rise of social media platforms, the emergence and evolution of these platforms have significantly facilitated their dissemination, making it easier to access and spread them across various locations. This study examines political misinformation and disinformation on social media during the 2023 Lagos state gubernatorial elections. The study was anchored on the agenda setting theory, the Survey Research Method was used and the questionnaire administered via google forms served as the instrument of data collection. The study population consisted of residents from Ojo Local Government area, with a sample size of 400 respondents calculated using the Taro Yamane formula. Respondents sampled for this study were selected through purposive sampling technique. Findings showed that citizens were exposed to political misinformation and disinformation on social media during the 2023 Lagos state gubernatorial elections. Findings also revealed that political party social media accounts, news outlets and user comments on social media all served as sources of misinformation and disinformation during the 2023 Lagos state gubernatorial elections. The paper recommends the establishment of media literacy programs that target the public to enhance their critical thinking skills and ability to discern deceptive information on social media platforms.
Keywords: Elections, Social media, disinformation, framing theory, misinformation
Contextual Analysis of the Political Contents of Nigerian National Newspapers Editorials in the 2011 and 2015 General Elections (Published)
The mass media clarifies issues; as was the case in the 2011 and 2015 elections. Whereas campaigns in the period were fraught with ideological justification, the electorates had to make choices. National newspapers editorial pronouncements needed to be established to ascertain their contributions to democratic enthronement. With the six geo-political zones of the nation, 5 national dailies: The Sun, The Punch, This Day, Leadership and Daily Trust were considered. The constructed and continuous week consideration resulted in 14 days, per daily/annum as sample size, using the code sheet with the content analysis research design. With reliability of 0.89 coefficient and employing simple percentages, it was found that the political contents of Nigerian national newspapers in year 2011 outnumbered those of year 2015 notwithstanding that general entries increased in 2015 than 2011.Topical editorials were advised.
Keywords: Content analysis, Contextual Analysis, Editorials, Elections, Nigerian National Newspapers, Political Contents.