MODERATING ROLE OF GROUP AFFILIATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FACEBOOK CONTENTS AND ELECTORATES' POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR IN NIGERIA'S 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Abstract The broad objective of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of group affiliation on the relationship between Facebook content and electorates’ political behaviour during the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria. Specifically, the study sort to determine the extent to which: Facebook content influences the electorates' political behaviour during the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria; and Group affiliations moderate the effect of Facebook content on the electorates’ political behaviour during the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria. Two hypotheses were formulated in line with the objectives of the study. A cross-sectional research design and survey method of data collection were adopted. The study covers the six geo-political zones in Nigeria in order to create a proper representation for the whole country. The following states were chosen to cover for each of the geo-political zones in Nigeria: Enugu (South-East), River (South-South), Abuja (North-Central), Lagos (South-West), Gombe (North-East), and Kano (North-West). The population of the study comprised of the 21,777,649 registered voters in these states. Appling the Taro Yamane formula, 400 electorates were selected using the stratified sampling technique. The instrument used in collecting data for this study was a five-point Likert scaled questionnaire administered online by means of Google form. The two hypotheses were tested at a 5% level of significance using the Regression statistics. The study's findings indicate that Facebook contents significantly and positively influenced electorates' political behaviour in the Nigeria's 2023 Presidential Election. The result further shows that moderating role of group affiliation was significant, suggesting that individuals' group identities shaped their responses to Facebook contents and political behaviour. This explains why there were so many contents on Facebook about the elections but the behaviour of the electorates didn’t reflect it. The study contributes to understanding the complex dynamics of social media, group affiliation, and political behavior in Nigeria's democratic process.