Influence of Twitter Campaign on Voters' Choice of Candidates during the 2019 Governorship Election.
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Date
2020
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FUOYE Journal of Communication Department of Mass Communication, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria
Abstract
With the advent of new technologies, social media platforms have been integrated and used by political candidates and parties during election period for the purpose of campaigning and disseminating information. In light of this, the study sought to examine the influence of Twitter campaigns on voters in the 2015 Lagos Governorship election. Survey research method was adopted while questionnaire was used as the method of data collection. Findings suggested that two political parties' candidates adopted Twitter as an electoral campaign tool and the respondents accessed information posted by the candidates at their convenience. Additionally, the findings revealed that the frequent use of Twitter by the political parties' candidates influenced the respondents' perception of the candidates. Finally, the findings of the study suggested the likelihood of voting for the preferred candidate would have reduced if the candidate had not campaigned on Twitter. The researchers concluded that Twitter is an important campaign tool that must be utilised for reach and mobilisation of the electorates for political participation. It was recommended that Twitter, on its own, may not be sufficient as a campaign medium to win an election and Twitter should be used to complement other campaign tools for success in any election.
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Keywords
Twitter campaigns, 2015 Lagos governorship elections, Political parties' candidates, Social media