MEDIA LITERACY, MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA DURING THE 2023 ELECTIONS IN PLATEAU STATE

The social media seems to have increased the velocity of spreading falsehoods and misinformation, being even more influential around electioneering times. This study looks at how low media literacy has worsened the spread of misinformation in the 2023 general elections in Plateau State, Nigeria. Using a mixed methods research design, the study attempts to measure media literacy across different demographics and its effects on voter perception and decision-making using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The outcomes suggest that the low levels of media literacy predispose individuals to manipulation from that misinformation into electoral choices, widening political polarisation and destroying the integrity of democracy. This study identifies the main sources and channels for the spread of misinformation across social media sites, political campaigning, and some traditional media. This study focuses on the furtherance of false narratives and the curtailment of critical engagement with factual information through algorithmic content, echo chambers, and cognitive biases. The study suggests targeted media literacy campaigns informing voters how to identify credible sources, policy regulations on disinformation spread, and technological approaches such as AI fact-checking systems to identify and flag misleading content as possible ways out of the problem. Enhancing partnership between government agencies, civil society organizations, and digital platforms was noted as a significant step toward combating misinformation and creating an informed electorate. This study provides an overview to the general subject of information disorder and emphasizes the urgent need to make media literacy an anchor against manipulative activities of the opinion in any democratic process.