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
Posts and Pathways: Social media and Migration (Published)
This paper provides a comprehensive literature review on the relationship between social media and migration. It discusses the role of social media in shaping migration behaviors, experiences, and outcomes, as well as its influence on pre-migration planning, integration processes, and transnational connections. The review categorizes research into three main themes: social media in pre-migration information, influence on migrants’ incorporation into host societies, and the preservation of transnational ties among immigrant communities. Theoretical frameworks are applied to understand these dynamics, particularly affecting social capital (Bourdieu, 1986), transnationalism (Glick Schiller et al., 1992), and agency (Castells, 2009). By synthesizing interdisciplinary findings, this paper aims to provide a conceptual foundation focusing on the importance of social media in the migration process. The conclusion suggests avenues for further exploration, particularly concerning the implications of digital divides on migrant experiences and highlights the implications of social media interactions for both migrants and host societies, ultimately suggesting directions for future research.
Keywords: Migration, Process, Relationship, Social media
Influence of Social Media on News Reportage and Authenticity of Covid-19 Stories (Published)
This work evaluates the influence of social media on news reportage and authenticity of covid-19 stories. In conducting this study, the researcher raised three research questions and three hypotheses. User and gratification theory was developed in 1974 by Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch and Diffusion of Innovations theory by Rogers were used to build theoretical support for the study. The survey research design was used to evaluate the opinions of 53 sampled respondents from Passion FM Uyo and NTA Uyo. After the analysis, findings revealed that, social media has an influence on news reporting in Nigeria and that it also has influence on the authenticity of news reported. Finally, it was found that social media had an influence on COVID-19 news reporting. Based on these findings, it was recommended that users of social media should be wary of some of the contents they consume as unscrupulous users have been found to display misleading information that could be harmful to the public. Again, members of the public are encouraged to desist from the various abuses of the use of social media for the interest of greater number of Nigerians found to be users of the sites in search of various relevant pieces of information.
Keywords: Authenticity, Covid-19 stories, Social media, news reportage
Influence of Social Media Among Youths in Abuja Municipal and Bwari Area Councils of FCT, Abuja (Published)
This study, the “Influence of Social Media among youth in Abuja Municipal Area and Bwari Area Councils of FCT, Abuja” was carried out to investigate the way social media influences the youth in AMAC and Bwari Area Councils of FCT, Abuja. The study adopted quantitative survey design with the questionnaire used as the research instrument for data collection. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive method while univariate frequency distribution tables, percentages and SPSS were used as statistical tools for data collection. Finding of the study revealed that social media platforms are used among the youth to a great extent as majority of them make use of the platforms at least more than twice a day. In the use of the platforms, Facebook endears the youth more for use compared to other social media platforms. The use of social media, therefore, influences the behaviour of youth to a great extent by making them cultivate the habit of living a flamboyant lifestyle. Finding however, revealed that the use of social media is challenged majorly by high data charges from the network providers followed by poor network, while unstable power and activities of Internet scammers are other challenges in the use of the social media among the youth. The recommended that policy makers should benefit from the youth’s interest in the social media in general and the Facebook in particular by using the platforms in reaching out to them (youth) on relevant policies/programmes that can impact positively on their lives in particular and the society in general. It further charged the youth to dedicate more time on the social media for the activities beneficial to them rather than merely posting personal photos and videos which have minimal impacts on their lives. The study concluded that social media is used among the youth and its utilization by this group of the people has tremendous impact on their behavior
Keywords: Abuja municipal, Bwari area council, FCT, Social media, Youths
Adapting Social Media Use for Lecturer-Student Communication in A Post Covid-19 Era in Nigeria (Published)
This study was conducted to x-ray the possibility of adapting social media for lecturer-student communication in a post-covid-19 era in Nigeria. The researchers anchored this study on the Technological Acceptance Model. This study adopted the online survey method. At the end of the data collection, students and lecturers of twelve (12) tertiary institutions in the country participated in the study; however, there were more students (85%) in the sampled population than lecturers (15%). The study established statistically using the chi-square test of independence that at a significant level of 0.05, students and lecturers of the sampled Nigerian tertiary institutions significantly used social media platforms for lecturers-students’ communication, with WhatsApp ranking the most used platform; also, social media platforms were significantly easy to use and valuable for lecturer-student communication in sampled Nigerian tertiary institutions. However, the use of social media significantly affected lecturer-student communication in sampled Nigerian tertiary institutions in a negative way by creating room for familiarity, which had tendencies to breed contempt. The researchers recommended that lecturers and students be cautious and polite when communicating using social media platforms. Students, most significantly, were employed not to misplace the use of social media in communication for informality.
Citation: Olannye-Okonofua D., and and Oji M. (2023) Adapting Social Media Use for Lecturer-Student Communication in A Post Covid-19 Era in Nigeria, International Journal of International Relations, Media and Mass Communication Studies, Vol.9, No.1, pp.1-22
Keywords: COVID-19, Lecturer, Social media, Student, Tertiary, communication
Investigation of the Psychological Effects of Social Media Use Among Students in Minnesota, United State America (Published)
The study looked into the psychological effects of social media use among students in Minnesota, USA. Specifically, the study assessed the various psychological effects of social media on students in Minnesota and the United States of America. It investigated the impact of social media use on the psychological well-being of students in Minnesota, United States of America. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The sample for the study consisted of two hundred (200) students that were randomly selected using a simple random sampling technique. One research instrument tagged “Psychological Effects of Social Media Questionnaire” (PESMQ) was used to collect data for the study. The data collected were analysed using frequency counts and simple percentage analyses of covariance (ANCOVA). According to the study’s findings, the psychological effects of social media use among students in Minnesota, United States of America include depression, stress, anxiety, emotional isolation, low self-esteem, memory loss, and self-harm. ca. The study’s findings also revealed that the use of social media had a significant impact on the psychological well-being of students in Minnesota, United States of America. The study concluded that depression, stress, anxiety, emotional isolation, low self-esteem, memory loss, and self-harm are the psychological effects of social media use among students and that there is a significant effect of the use of social media on the psychological well-being of the students in Minnesota, United States of America.
Keywords: Effects, Psychological, Social media, Students, Use, communication, online
Activism in the Era of the Social Media: A Study of the Use of Social Media by Young People in Amuo Odufin LGA, Lagos State Nigeria (Published)
Social Media is everything in this age and time. It is no longer that “sophisticated toy” created for the pleasure of the younger generation. Institutions of learning, financial institutions, governments, and every serious organisation now has a social media presence. It has not just brought everybody together in a global village, it has equally given everybody a voice and provided a platform for a lot of vibrant young men and women who would have never had the opportunity to air their views anywhere else. But in the midst of all these is a particular concern which is if the social media translates its online impact on activism offline as well. Findings showed that it does. It doesn’t only give a voice to the voiceless, it not only mobilizes like minds online, it persuades them to act offline. Questionnaires served as primary source of data for this study while scholarly articles and books relevant to the study served as secondary source of data.
Citation: Akagu Joseph Ifeanyichukwu (2022) Activism in the Era of the Social Media: A Study of the Use of Social Media by Young People in Amuo Odufin LGA, Lagos State Nigeria, International Journal of International Relations, Media and Mass Communication Studies, Vol.8, No.1, pp.20-31
Keywords: Era, Issues, Social media, Users, activism, global village, young people
Understanding Muslim Preaching Students’ Use of Social Media (Published)
The purpose of this study is to find out Muslim students preachers use of social media for preaching purposes. This study is employes quantitative method. Survey was distributed to 90 students within Islamic Communication department at State Institut for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Palu. The finding show that most students agree that the use of social media can help them to acces new information relating to Islamic knowledge. The students also agree that the social media can help them to build personal identity because the interact with other preachers in online space. More importantly, the use of social media has increased their knowledge regarding how to deliver preaching. As a result, they believe that the use social media can help them to deliver dakwah or preaching easily because it can reduce time and hinder geographical barriers. We argue that the findings may effect Islamic education institution to change their students’ perspective in delivering dakwah with new media.
Keywords: IAIN Palu., Social media, Students, da'wah, gratification and use theory
Use of Social Media in Mobilising Support for Abductees in Nigeria: A Study of Epe School Kidnap (Published)
This work examines social media usage to support abductees in Nigeria, beaming its searchlight on the case of the 6 Epe school boys, who were kidnapped at The Lagos State Model College on May 24, 2017. This study seeks to know various ways the social media contribute to the freedom of abductees in Nigeria and how potent the social media could be in mobilising support for them. The survey method was adopted, and questionnaire was used to collect data. For this study, 528 questionnaires were given to respondents in the 66 streets on Eredo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), in Epe Local Government of Lagos State. 521 of the questionnaire were returned. Eredo has a population of 18,590, and 3% of the population was used. Purposive sampling method was chosen for this study. This is adopted in order to select the members of the population that are fit to give the correct answers to the research questions. The findings of this study reveal that the contributions of Nigerians and social media outcry made the government and its agencies to take speedy action on the abduction of the Epe school boys. This study finds out that the social media has the power to reach a large number of Nigerians faster than other media of communication. This study therefore recommends that the Civil Society organisations in Nigeria and Human Right Groups should explore the advantages of the social media to reach the people and the government alike. The study also recommends that Nigerians still need orientations on how to maximize the power of the social media.
Keywords: Mobilizing, Nigeria, Social media, Usage, abductees
The contributions of Social Media as sources of information to the Newspapers in Tanzania (Published)
The attention of this study was to examine the contributions made by social media as “sources of information” to the newspapers in Tanzania. Specifically, the study examined the extent through which social media had contributed news stories for the selected newspapers in the country. The study also sought to determine the social media which had often contributed news stories to the selected newspapers. Lastly, the study, pursued to determine the contents and nature of the stories retrieved from the social media by the selected newspapers. This was a content analysis study which utilized documentary review of the three selected newspapers. Three newspapers of Mwananchi, Daily News, and the Citizen were purposefully selected for the study. A recording manual was designed and used during the documentary review and the unit of analysis included: hard news stories, soft news stories, column, editorial comment, features and sports stories. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data since the study carried qualitative data. The findings suggest that social media have played a significant contribution in providing news stories for the newspapers in Tanzania. It further suggest that, in all social media used, Twitter is the number one social media which provides more news stories to the newspapers in Tanzania. Lastly, the findings suggest that most of the news stories retrieved from social media were political stories, entertainment, and sports.
Keywords: Contribution, Newspapers, Social media, Tanzania, as sources of information