EFFECT OF TWITTER BAN ON POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL
EFFECT OF TWITTER BAN ON POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The national political environment has already been changed by social networking. Barack Obama pioneered the use of big data and microtargeting on social media during his 2008 presidential campaign, increasing his chances of winning the presidency.
In the 116th Congress, a record number of women, Muslims, and persons of colour were elected. Because of their efficient use of social media, several of these previously unknown politicians could gain office despite having low financial resources.
According to Tom Murse (2019) writing for Thought Co., “the use of social media in politics dramatically changed the way campaigns are run.” In the field of communication studies, the use of social media in politics is a relatively new phenomenon.
Political campaigns today employ social media to develop the candidate’s political identity, educate and attract people, and disseminate information, in a manner similar to integrated marketing efforts where branding and dialogue are critical to success.
According to Allison Gosman (2016), social media “has become a powerful mechanism for political campaigns to strategize their communication plans,” which results in the creation of shareable material that politicians and supporters may use to raise awareness, engage the public, and solicit votes.
Social media, when combined with traditional political analytics such as party affiliation and exit surveys, can help forecast voter behaviour. Understanding the various platforms–their reach, capacities, and mechanics–is critical for 21st-century politics.
According to DiGrazia G. (2013), the online “‘buzz’ about a candidate on social media can be used as an indicator of voter behaviour,” notably on Twitter, and that this “holds regardless of whether the Tweet is positive or negative.”
The authors also come to the conclusion that polling data is only a portion of the knowledge candidates require to be successful, and that social media analytics are critical in the modern campaign.
Twitter, for example, has swiftly become a political need because to its low cost and great precision. It enables candidates with limited financial resources to reach specialised audiences at a fraction of the expense of traditional communication channels.
Coupled with the fact that social networking sites have been used by various political candidates to gain an online presence and communicate with their audience, as well as political parties hosting online campaigns,
a ban on any of their social media handles, such as Twitter, may affect electorate participation in politics, increasing the high rate of apathy among eligible voters to elect such candidate.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Because of the increased availability of political news on various forms of social media, younger generations are becoming more active in politics. Because younger generations use social media more regularly, they are exposed to politics more frequently and in a way that is incorporated into their online social life.
Because of the number of ideas, thoughts, and opinions moving through the social media platform, a communication platform such as social media is persuasive and frequently works to modify or influence beliefs when it comes to political views.
It has been discovered that following political candidates on Twitter leads to political persuasion; hence, the more people utilise social media platforms for political news sources, the more their political ideas would be influenced.
However, due to the Federal Government of Nigeria’s recent Twitter ban on June 5th, 2021, there is suspicion that this may have an impact on the political campaigns of both political candidates and sponsored political parties in Nigeria in light of the upcoming 2023 general election.
Such impact could include reduced political participation of eligible voters in electioneering or a bad decision when voting for a representative owing to a lack of information about the candidate that would have been made available on social media platforms. Therefore it is against the backdrop that this study is focused towards analysing the effect of twitter prohibition on political campaign.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The primary goal of this research is to investigate the impact of Twitter bans on political campaigns. It will, in particular,
Determine the nature of the Twitter ban’s impact on Nigerian voter political views.
Examine the extent to which political campaigns were pushed via political parties’ Twitter handles prior to Nigeria’s Twitter ban.
Examine the extent to which political knowledge was generated through political parties’ Twitter accounts prior to Nigeria’s Twitter ban.
Examine whether the current Twitter ban in Nigeria will effect electorate participation and candidate choice in the upcoming 2023 general election.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following questions guide the research:
What is the nature of the Twitter ban’s impact on Nigerian electorate political opinion?
What was the extent to which political campaigns were pushed through political parties’ Twitter handles prior to Nigeria’s Twitter ban?
What was the extent to which political awareness was generated by political parties’ Twitter accounts prior to Nigeria’s Twitter ban?
Will the current Twitter ban in Nigeria effect voter turnout and candidate selection in the impending 2023 general election?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Because this study depicts the nature of the Twitter ban effect on political campaigns, as well as the significant roles played by this subject under study, it is critical to note that the findings and theoretical aspects of this work will be relevant to political parties,
candidates, and electorates. Furthermore, the study will be extremely beneficial to students, researchers, and other individuals who may be interested in gathering or carrying out any research relevant to the topic.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study is limited to the impact of a Twitter ban on political campaigns. However, the study is limited to a political party because they are the body that projects their party’s candidate through political campaigns on social media. The political party chosen in Akwa Ibom State is the PDP, hence PDP members in the Uyo Secretariat serve as respondents for the study.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The following are some of the study’s limitations:
Finance: Due to the researcher’s economic difficulties, a bigger sample size, which would have allowed the study to reach a larger territory, has become impossible; hence, this work is limited to only Uyo Local Government in Akwaibom State.
Time: It was not surprising that the researcher was constrained by time constraints, as this provided a direct challenge to the effective coverage anticipated in this study. The researcher intended to interview all political party members in the selected state,
but due to the researcher’s numerous activities, which included academics, work schedules, and other social activities, it became relatively impossible to explain the intention, so PDP members in the Uyo senatorial zone were enrolled as participants in the study.
Respondent attitude: The majority of members fail to collect the questionnaires, and those who do collect give close attention to filling and returning them, while others do not return theirs at all.
Others were less flexible and may have offered untrustworthy information out of fear of being exposed, despite the researcher’s pledge that all information would be kept strictly confidential and used exclusively for educational purposes.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Twitter is a microblogging and social networking website that allows users to post and interact with messages known as “tweets.” Unregistered users can only view tweets, while registered users can post, like, and retweet them.
Twitter Ban: This is the official halt in the operation of Twitter ordered by the Federal Government of Nigeria on June 5th, 2021, until the proprietors of the social network meet the newly set condition imposed by the government of Nigeria.
A political campaign is an organised effort that aims to affect the decision-making progress of a specific group. Political campaigns are frequently used in democracies to refer to electoral campaigns in which MPs are elected or referendums are resolved.
REFERENCE
CNN (2021) reports that “Nigeria bans Twitter after the company deletes President Buhari’s tweet.” Retrieved on the 5th of June, 2021.
DiGrazia, G. (2013). Political identity, social media, and shifting patterns of involvement. The American Academy of Political and Social Science, 644(1), pp. 20-39.
A. Gosman (October 20, 2016). Lessons from real life: social media and the 2016 presidential election. Corporate Solutions by Nasdaq. Retrieved from https://business.nasdaq.com/marketinsite/2016/Real-Life-Lessons-From-Social-Media-and-the-2016-Presidential-Election.html
T. Murse (2019, May 25). The impact of social media on politics. Think Co. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/3367534/how-social-media-has-changed-politics
“Nigeria suspends Twitter after the social media platform freezes the president’s account,” Washington Post (2021). ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved on the 5th of June, 2021.
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL