The Role of Social Media in the 2023 Nigerian General Elections: An Analytical Appraisal of Selected Platforms

The 2023 general elections in Nigeria witnessed a surge in political discourse on social media platforms. Analyzing the impact of social media on the voting process can shed light on the potential of digital platforms in bridging these divisions and promoting citizen involvement. Therefore, this study sought to guide evidence-based decision-making, policy development, and the creation of media literacy campaigns to strengthen an inclusive democratic system in Nigeria. The diversity of social media channels used during the general elections for 2023 is compared in this paper. We modified the mass media’s framing theory and the agenda-setting theory and chose the survey research approach. The results of this study indicate that social media political campaigns played a significant role in persuading voters in the 2023 general elections. The study also showed that social media political campaigns are quite successful, and Twitter in particular is a main avenue of political and electioneering communication.