Impact of Social Media Messages on Nigerians’ Perception of Candidate’s Ideology, Competence and Policy Direction During America’s 2024 Presidential Election

Background: Because of the United States's global influence, America’s presidential election usually generates global attention. Issues related to the 2024 presidential elections were heavily discussed on social media. Objective: This study aimed to determine the influence of social media messages on Nigerians' perceptions of political ideology, competence, and policy direction during the 2024 American presidential election. Methodology: The researchers used a descriptive survey research design for the study. The population was 36, 7500 social media users in Nigeria, from which a sample size of 385 was drawn using the respondent-driven chain-driven sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The results were presented in two tables and one chart. Results: The study showed that the social media platforms through which Nigerians got exposed to messages on the 2024 American presidential election were WhatsApp, followed by Facebook, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) in that order. The result of the study also revealed a broad spectrum of engagement patterns that range from sharing messages, clicking the like button to show approval of messages, writing comments to express an opinion and state the position of the user, tagging others to such comments, engaging others with similar views and engaging those who sharing a different opinion. Finally, the study found that while social media messages influenced participants’ perception of political ideology to a moderate extent, they influenced their perception of competence to a low extent and policy direction to a large extent. Conclusion: Social media platforms effectively influence perceptions about political candidates and their policy direction. Contribution: This study has provided empirical evidence that could guide future debates on the role of social media in international politicking. Recommendation: Future studies should extend to include the contributing role of participants’ demographics in their responses to the subject matter.