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Abstract
This paper examines the impact of social media on African politics focusing on how these 
platforms have influenced political discourse, citizen engagement, and government 
responsibility and accountability. The paper uses secondary sources of data and the data is 
analyzed within the arguments of the Network Society Theory by Manuel Castells which 
postulates that societies are shaped by relationships between individuals and groups through the 
interplay of technology and networked forms of communication. Findings from the data reveal 
that social media has transformed the political landscape in African countries by shaping their 
structural, political and governance processes through public opinions and public policy 
mobilization and action. The findings also reveal that while social media has provided new 
avenues for political participation and information dissemination, it has also presented 
challenges such as the spread of misinformation and the manipulation of negative public 
sentiment. The paper therefore recommends a moderation of social media through legislation 
that guarantees freedom of speech but also protects individuals and government against 
falsehood and blackmail. 
Keywords: Africa, social media, Politics, Internet, Democracy, Elections   

Introduction
In recent years, the proliferation of social media platforms has revolutionized the way 
information is disseminated, opinions are formed, and political discourse is conducted 
worldwide. This digital revolution has not spared the African continent, where social media has 
emerged as a powerful tool for communication, mobilization, and engagement among both 
political elites and ordinary citizens. The impact of social media on African politics is a topic of 
growing significance and relevance, as it shapes the dynamics of governance, activism, and 
public participation in the region.

Africa, a continent known for its diverse cultures, languages, and political landscapes, has seen a 
significant increase in internet penetration rates over the past decade. This growth has been 
accompanied by the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and 
Instagram, which have become integral parts of everyday life for millions of Africans. The 
accessibility and reach of social media have enabled individuals to connect, share information, 
and express their opinions on a scale never seen before, transcending traditional barriers of time 
and space.

INTERROGATING THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON 
AFRICAN POLITICS

John Tor Tsuwa
Department of Political Sciences
Benue State University, Makurdi,

Benue State
johntsuwa@gmail.com

and
Terver Akase

Department of Political Sciences
Benue State University, Makurdi,

Benue State
terryakase@gmail.com

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mailto:johntsuwa@gmail.com
mailto:johntsuwa@gmail.com


Against this backdrop, the intersection of social media and African politics presents a complex 
and multifaceted terrain for exploration. From facilitating political campaigns and mobilizing 
mass protests to exposing corruption and amplifying marginalized voices, social media has 
exerted a profound influence on the political landscape of many African countries. However, this 
influence is not without challenges, as the spread of misinformation, hate speech, and online 
manipulation has raised concerns about the potential negative impacts of social media on 
democratic processes and social cohesion. Jibo, (2014) states that social media has brought 
enormous transformation into the political space globally. 

The internet has recently quickened political change in countries as diverse as Tunisia, the US, 
Britain and Libya, for example. The use of Facebook and twitter has linked people who share 
ideas across all human divides and this has brought about fundamental political change as was 
witnessed in the so-called Arab spring and elsewhere in the world. The biggest gain of humanity 
from the internet, it is generally believed, is the diffusion of democratic ideals for all mankind to 
appreciate and aspire to achieve.

Jibo is not alone in his succinct submission that the internet has had profound influence on 
politics in Africa and elsewhere. Vromen (2018) shares similar views. 

Most other forms of political engagement tend to favour those with the most wealth or access. 
Not social media. It gives voice to anyone with a phone. In a time when political power is 
synonymous with economic power, the type of collective action social media makes possible is 
giving more people a say in the conduct of their governments and the society they live in. 

Before the advent of social media, conventional media such as television, radio, newspapers and 
magazines had significant and monopolistic influence on political discourses. That was the era 
when gagging or censorship of the press was high. Most of the media organizations were owned 
and controlled by the government. In Nigeria for instance, Jibo, (2003) stated that, 

…it is significant to observe that on the eve of the Olusegun Obasanjo's presidency, Nigeria had 
liberalised media ownership, thanks to decree 38 of 1992 which Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida 
had promulgated to allow private ownership of the electronic media. Until then, it was entirely 
government-owned. A number of individuals and organizations took advantage of this 
development and established radio and television stations; these include Ray Power F.M. Radio, 
African Independent Television [AIT] and Minaj Broadcast International [MBI] to mention a 
few examples. 

The above scenario was prevalent in most African countries until social media emerged and 
became a potent tool for citizen journalism where the people could now take active part in 
information dissemination. 

With social media, as far as one owns a phone, he/she can sit in the comfort zone of his/her house 
and express their opinion on any political discussion and such information can reach a good 
number of people in a very short time. One of the greatest advantages of social media is that it 
creates space for everybody irrespective of their social status in the society unlike other 
conventional means such as radio, television and newspaper where the elites and the government 
monopolized the media space. Through social media, both the rich and the poor contend for 
political space without the former dominating the latter. Vromen (2018) agrees with the above 
view by asserting that, while other forms of political engagement tend to gravitate towards 
members of the society with most wealth or access, social media does not. Rather; it provides 
opportunity to anyone with a phone. Similarly, Shirky (2008) provides further illumination on 
how social media has eliminated many barriers by noting that: “social tools” spur group-

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formation and collective action by reducing the costs of communication and removing “two old 
obstacles – locality of information, and barriers to group reaction”. In other words, social media 
has broken down many hurdles to open up more political space for people irrespective of class or 
status to add their voices on major political developments in their societies.

There are 4.95 billion social media users globally (Statista, 2024). This means 61% of the global 
population uses social media. The global social media users are estimated to reach 5.17 billion by 
the end of 2024. According to Statista (2024), the number of social media users in Africa has risen 
continuously, amounting to over 384 million as of 2022. Social media penetration is considerably 
higher in Northern and Southern Africa than in other regions. As of February 2022, some 56 
percent of the population in Northern Africa used social media, while the share was 45 percent in 
Southern Africa. Central Africa was significantly behind, with a share of only eight percent. In 
Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, social media users favoured WhatsApp. Statista 
(2024) reported that approximately 95.4% of internet users in South Africa use WhatsApp every 
month. In Nigeria, 91.9% of internet users use WhatsApp; in Kenya, 93.5% and in Ghana, 89.9%. 
The more people use the internet, the more they use WhatsApp. This is because WhatsApp has 
data privacy, end-to-end encryption, video and call functionality, and group function which 
makes it indispensable for companies, schools, churches, associations, groups of friends and 
many others. Many people rely on information from these platforms and use it to share 
information. On the other hand, Egyptian and Moroccan users preferred Facebook.

The data reveals that Nigerians spend the most time on social media on the African continent. As 
of the first quarter of 2023, Nigerians spent, on average, three hours and 44 minutes on different 
social media platforms. South Africans and Kenyans followed, spending three hours and 34 
minutes and three hours and 32 minutes on social media, respectively.

Though the initial intention of its invention was not to be used as a medium for political 
mobilization and engagement, the social media has turned out, as it were, a major platform where 
people ventilate their opinions on major political, social and economic developments in their 
respective countries. Zuckerberg (2014) admitted to this fact by asserting that Facebook was not 
in the beginning created to be a company; it was designed to accomplish a social mission with the 
primary aim of linking people together. Vromen (2018) corroborated that social media platforms 
were not initially intended to be used as news or political stage, but to a large extent, that is what 
they have become.

One area the usage and impact of social media has been felt in Africa is in the aspect of 
democratization. Since its inception, individuals, groups, political parties and civil society 
groups have greatly used social media to deepen democratic culture.  However, there is lack of 
consensus among researchers as regards the impact of social media as a political tool in the 
democratization process. While some scholars commend the role of social media in this regard, 
others have argued that social media is a threat to democracy.  Arguing on the positive side of 
social media on political advancement scholars such as Stoycheff, Nisbet, & Epstein (2016), 
Bartlett, Krasodomski-Jones, Daniel, Fisher, Jesperson (2015), Ruijgrok, (2017) Reuter 
&Szakonyi (2015) cited in Placek (2018) espoused that social media can create a higher demand 
for democracy, intensify protest against autocrats, promote greater political awareness, increase 
awareness on issues of electoral malpractices and promote civic awareness and engagement. 
Other scholars such as Deb, Donohue, &Glaisyer (2017), Fitzpatrick (2018) and Chakrabarti 
(2018) intimated that social media platforms, together with the rise of partisan media in 
traditional channels, have worsened political divisions and polarization. Furthermore, some 
social media platforms reinforce divisions and create echo chambers that propagate more and 

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more extreme or biased views over time. Similarly, the problems of hate speech, fake news, and 
smear campaigns have also raised some controversy on the role of social media as a 
democratization tool. Sunstein (2018, p.1) has summarized the threat that social media poses to 
democracy as follows:

For social media and democracy, the equivalents of car crashes include false reports (“fake 
news”) and the proliferation of information cocoons and as a result, an increase in fragmentation, 
polarization and extremism. If you live in an information cocoon, you will believe many things 
that are false, and you will fail to learn countless things that are true. That's awful for democracy.

It can, therefore, be stated with some level of certainty that there are mixed perceptions among 
scholars regarding the impact of social media on Africa politics. It is against this background that 
this paper seeks to appreciate these divergent views in the literature, by examining the impact of 
social media on Africa politics.  

Clarification of Concepts 

Social Media

Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) view social media as a technology that permits for user-
collaboration as well as User Generated Content (USG) which concentrates on individual 
participation and content creation. They added that, social media encompasses platforms such as 
blogs, social networking sites (such as Facebook and Twitter), content communities (such as 
YouTube), and collaborative projects (such as Wikipedia). Social media is also defined as a set of 
information technologies which enable interactions and networking (Oestreicher-Singer 
&Zalmanson, 2013). Similarly, Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy and Silvestre (2011) 
described social media as a web-based application which offers functionality for sharing, 
relationships, group, conversation and profiles. Social media as used in this paper refers to a 
network of technological platforms (i.e. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) that provide political 
space for people to be involved in the governance of their society.

Politics

The changing nature of politics makes it intricate, complex and more difficult than the physical 
sciences. This is due to the changing nature and the complexities of man. However, the word 
'politics' is derived from a Greek word polis which means city state. The inhabitants of the city 
state were, naturally, citizens (Kepedi, 2013). The Greek polis, or city-state, was a resilient and 
adaptable political institution founded on the principles of citizenship, freedom, and equality. 

Again, politics can be seen from subjective idealism or an ideal philosophical concept and 
existentialism which is the view from the point of reality. In the words of a Danish philosopher 
popularized by Sarte (1905) it is an indifferent and hostile world. This statement was 
corroborated by Aristotle (384-322 Bi) when he observed that man by nature is a political animal 
and by this, he meant that the essence of social existence is politics and that two or more men 
interacting with one another are invariably involved in a political relationship. This is so because 
man from time immemorial prefers social companionship to isolation. Several proponents 
conceptualized the term of politics as follows.

Laeswell (1937) in his famous book 'Politics' defined it as who gets what, when and how. He 
attempts to expand the horizon of the enquiry to look at politics in many other social settings 
other than formal public government. It helps underline the fact that politics is about decisions 
made by people concerning certain objectives which they consider desirable. Harold Laeswell in 
his definition, laid emphasis on, the role of power in the distribution of scarce resources. David 

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Easton in his political system (1953) looked at politics as a process through which binding 
decisions on the distribution of scarce values are made for a society in a world of change. It is in 
this light that he viewed politics as the authoritative allocation of values in an organized society. 
In the understanding of Ola (1995), politics is dealing with power. To him, it is the management 
and administration of power within an existing nation state and community which is an aggregate 
of people with shared boundaries, values and some mutual interests, feelings and behaviour. 
From a pluralist perspective, politics involves competitiveness between a varieties of interest 
group each pressing for its own advantage. Since no one group is seen to be dominant, politics is, 
therefore, a business of bargaining and compromise, essentially.

Methodological Framing

This paper is qualitative in nature and uses secondary sources of data such as books, journals, 
term papers and of secondary sources to obtain data.

Theoretical Framing 

The paper adopted the Network Society Theory which was developed by Manuel Castells in the 
1980s. Castells assumes that technological development is the most important individual 
precondition for the resurge of networks (Castells, 1996). Castells (1989, p. 32) wrote that, these 
networks, which could not exist on such a large scale without the medium provided by new 
information technologies, are the emerging organizational form of our world, and have played a 
fundamental role in ensuring the restructuring process---. He supports his view with a claim that 
the emergence of networks as an efficient form of social organization is the result of three 
features that have proved their usefulness in the emerging techno-economic environment, 
namely flexibility, scalability and survivability (Castells, 2004a, p. 5-6; Castells, 2009, p. 23):

Flexibility: they can reconfigurate according to changing environments, keeping their goals 
while changing their components. They go around blocking points of communication channels 
to find new connections. Scalability: they can expand or shrink in size with little disruption. 
Survivability: because they have no center, and can operate in a wide range of configurations, 
they can resist attacks to their nodes and codes, because the codes of the network are contained in 
multiple nodes that can reproduce the instructions and find new ways to perform.

To Castells (2004a; 2009), networks are sets of interconnected nodes, which process financial 
and other value flows with the help of new technologies. They are self-configurable, complex 
structures of communication and power, which cooperate and compete internally and externally 
according to interests expressed within the nodes using ultimately a binary logic of 
inclusion/exclusion. They have the capability of self-renewal in the sense that they may 
introduce new actors and content as conditions change. Their dynamic nature makes them 
flexible, scalable and survivable, which are needed in a continuously changing techno-economic 
environment.

 The Network Society Theory emphasizes the transformative impact of digital communication 
technologies, including social media, on various aspects of society, including politics. According 
to this theory, social media have the potential to enable new forms of political participation, 
mobilization, and organization, and to facilitate the rapid dissemination of information and ideas. 
In the context of African politics, the framework has helped us to understand how social media 
have significant implications for political communication, citizen engagement, and the 
dynamics of social movements and political activism.

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Social Media and Politics

Social media plays a pivotal role in democracy and democratization processes all over the world. 
Though, as correctly observed by Omojuwa (2015), elections may not be won on social media 
but they shape perceptions. In other words, social media has the capacity to deepen democratic 
thinking all over the world.  For instance, Barack Obama made massive use of social media in his 
2008 Presidential Campaign to mobilize the support of American youths to win election 
(Dipanwita, 2015). As a matter of fact, a study conducted by a public relations firm Edelman 
concluded that the “landslide victory” of Barack Obama in the 2008 election was due to his 
positive use of social media (Lutz, 2009). Similarly, the social media contributed in forcing the 
then Prime Minister of Iceland SigmundurDavíðGunnlaugsson to quit over the Panama Papers 
scandal (Polonski, 2016).

Case Studies of Social Media Influence on African Politics

Africa has not been left out of the social media wind blowing across the world. What is famously 
today referred to as the “Arab Spring” was triggered by the power of social media. The Arab 
Spring uprisings of 2011 demonstrated the transformative power of social media in 
contemporary global politics. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook were 
instrumental in mobilizing citizens to participate in mass protests and demonstrations across the 
Middle East and North Africa. By allowing for the rapid sharing of information and coordination 
of protests, social media played a crucial role in the success of the movement. The Arab Spring 
highlighted the potential of social media to challenge oppressive regimes and promote political 
change, ushering in a new era of activism and political engagement online (Wolfsfeld, et al., 
2013). African case studies are presented below:

The Nigerian Case Study

In Nigeria, social media has continued to shape political events especially in the 2015 general 
election. Prior to the 2015 elections, many Nigerians used to congregate on social media 
platforms like Twitter and Facebook to ventilate their frustration against government policies 
and actions (Omojua, 2015). The pressure from different social media users across Nigeria did 
help in no small measure in repositioning the political situation of the country at that time. The 
trend began a few years earlier when social media users in the country organized protests like 
"Enough Is Enough" in April of 2010 which eventually led to the then-Vice President Goodluck 
Jonathan to be made Acting President, a move that eventually led to the "doctrine of necessity" 
that got the National Assembly to pronounce him Acting President following the illness of 
President UmaruYar'Adua (Omojua, 2015).

In a similar vein, Bartlett, Krasodomski-Jones, Fisher and Jespersen (2015) also provided 
evidence which suggested that Twitter was mostly used to mobilize and influence the electorates 
to vote for certain candidates in the 2015 election in Nigeria. In a similar analysis, Udoka (2015) 
observed that the 2015 general election was decided, dominated and directed by social media 
because the online platforms played a key role as watchdogs. As votes were still being counted at 
the polling units, the outcomes were immediately reported on various social media within 
minutes and when announced officially, the results were the same (Udoka, 2015).  This means 
that most of the results provided by different social media platforms did not contradict the one 
officially announced by the electoral umpire. Suntai and Targema (2015) have provided evidence 
which suggest that social media played a critical role in democratization process in Nigeria.  

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They explained that in the build up to the 2015 general election, “Tweet meets and hangouts” 
were the in-thing within Nigerian online networks. They observed that during the 2015 election, 
Hashtags such as #MeetGej, #Febuhari, #, #WhyiwillvoteGEJ, #MarchforBuhari, #GMB15, 
#LagosForYou and #iHavedecided were promoted by politicians and their friends; while 
#NigeriaDecides, #Nigeria2015, #iPledgeToVote, #MyPVCnow, #GoVote, #VoteNoFight, etc, 
were promoted by civil society groups to increase citizens' awareness and involvement.

Different social media platforms also provided the Nigerian public with pictures and videos on 
Facebook and WhatsApp showing how party agents were nabbed by security operatives in the act 
of vote buying as well bringing into limelight the issue of underage voting in some states of the 
federation, consequently forcing INEC to swing into action (Apuke&Tunca, 2018). In a similar 
manner, Oseni (2015) also restated that during the collation of results, journalists and civil 
society groups used social media to update the Nigerian public as regards the results in different 
states of the federation. It is also on record according to Temitope and Ahmad (2017), that social 
media was used by APC in the 2015 election as an avenue for mobilizing people to vote and also 
collate and preserve results which greatly forestalled possible manipulation of election results in 
Nigeria.

Apuke and Tunca (2018) also opined that Nigeria has witnessed a significant rise in the use of 
social media platforms. They observed that in the Nigerian 2015 general election, Facebook was 
used due to its participatory nature. Apuke and Tunca (2018) argued further that different social 
media platforms were used by political parties in Nigeria for political organization, 
electioneering campaigns and mobilization of voters. For instance, while there is no doubt that 
many political parties contested for elections in Nigeria, the role played by the two major political 
parties in Nigeria (PDP and APC) cannot be overemphasized. For instance, Omojua (2015) 
contended that, the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) was the major 
beneficiary of the role of social media in political change.  The All Progressives Congress (APC) 
greatly made massive political gain out of the social media. The party used different social media 
platforms to capitalize on the dwindling political fortunes of the then ruling party, the People's 
Democratic Party (PDP).  For instance, the then spokesman of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed 
constantly used social media to mesmerize the Nigerian public on how the ruling People's 
Democratic Party (PDP) was not able to deal with the issue of insecurity, corruption and bad 
governance.

On the other hand, social media posts by the spokespersons of the then ruling People's 
Democratic Party (PDP) such as Femi Fani-Kayode, DoyinOkupe and Reno Omokri attracted 
more enemies than friends for President Goodluck Jonathan. Omojuwa (2015) observed that, 
Doyin Okupe and Reno Omokriwho were presidential aides on political matters and media 
respectively, wrote on their tweets accounts that: "retweet if you won't be voting president 
Jonathan because of Omokri and Okupe”. The result from the Twitter poll showed that over 300 
people retweeted that they would not be voting for President Goodluck Jonathan (Omojuwa, 
2015). By employing this strange strategy, it showed the duo were unethical and had little or no 
idea of the ropes of the profession which brought serious damage to the re-election bid of former 
President Goodluck Jonathan. This was a clear indication of how the social media posts of 
presidential aides contributed in decimating the political balance sheet of the then President.

Both the ruling People's Democratic Party and the then opposition All Progressives Congress 
employed the use of social media as a major tool in electioneering campaign in Nigeria. The then 
opposition party, the APC benefited a lot from the social media usage. For example, Muhammadu 
Buhari, the Presidential candidate of the APC opened a Twitter account in December, 2014 with 

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900 tweets but as the 2015 general election drew nearer, he had over 117,000 followers 
(Omojuwa, 2015). Similarly, the twitter followers of his running mate Professor Yemi Osinbajo 
rose from 430 tweets to 80,000 (Omojuwa, 2015).

Comparatively, the twitter account of the then president Goodluck Jonathan had only 32 tweets 
with 25,000 followers (Omojuwa, 2015). Besides, the tweeter account of the then president was 
not functional as at May, 2014, a clear indication that there was a gap between the government 
and the people (Omojuwa, 2015). As observed by Polanski (2017), it would be a grave mistake to 
disregard the voices from the internet. This was what actually happened to the PDP in the 2015 
elections. As a result, the APC greatly exploited this gap by convincing the Nigerian public to 
vote for change.

It was, therefore, surprising and contradictory that President Buhari who immensely benefited 
from social media influence to win the 2015 election, placed a ban on Twitter. From 5 June 2021 
to 13 January 2022, the government of Nigeria officially banned Twitter, which restricted it from 
operating in the country. The ban occurred after Twitter deleted tweets made by, and temporarily 
suspended, the Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, warning the southeastern people of 
Nigeria, predominantly Igbo people, of a potential repeat of the 1967 Nigerian Civil War due to 
the insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria (Maclean, 2021).

Still in Nigeria, the emergence of Peter Obi of the LabourParty (LP), prior to the 2023 elections, is 
another example of how social media can have enormous influence on politics. Flowing from the 
EndSars nationwide protests of 2020, youths of the nation began to agitate for a new Nigeria. 
Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, who had just left the People's Democratic Party 
and joined the Labour Party (LP), became the beacon of hope for the youths, most of who were 
active on social media. The Obi campaign rapidly spread across the country via Facebook, 
Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and other platforms and indeed threatened the two major political 
parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Obadere 
(2023, p. 4) wrote on the Peter Obi phenomenon thus:

In the following months, the odds of Obi becoming Nigeria's next president changed, in a 
dramatic election season, from totally implausible to not unlikely to very possible, tracking the 
evolving mood of young people who felt at first that Obi stood no chance against the formidable 
machine of the old guard before becoming totally convinced that he stood as good a chance as any 
of disrupting the entrenched two-party system. It was the fervency and energy of these young 
people, the “Obi-dient” as they came to be known, that drove Obi's startling ascendancy, raising 
the hope that their candidate could overcome a series of formidable structural hurdles.

In Benue State, Nigeria, the victory of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives 
Congress, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia, in the 2023 election, was largely attributed to the wave 
of campaign his team mounted on social media known as “Yes Father Movement”. Alia's official 
Facebook page which was created less than two months before the election had over 30,000 
followers, mostly young people. Though Father Alia's popularity, as a catholic priest who was 
known for conducting healing masses for about three decades was a key factor, his presence on 
social media also played a pivotal role in his victory at the polls (The Guardian Nigeria News, 
2023).

The Liberian Case Study

In Liberia, civil society groups rose to caution the government against restricting access to social 
media before the country's elections of 2023. As the people of Liberia were preparing to vote on 

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October 10, 2023, two groups known as Access Now (2024) and the #KeepItOn coalition urged 
the then President, George Weah to ensure that the election process was inclusive, free, and fair — 
starting with upholding access to information and avenues for free expression via the internet. 

When a government interferes with internet access during an election, it's the people who lose. 
Liberia's history of blocking social media during democratic movements must come to an end. 
#KeepItOn this election and beyond (Access Now, 2023, p.5).

In 2019, following anti-corruption protests against the government, Liberian authorities 
restricted access to popular social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, 
Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp across the country, the civil society groups had issued a 
similar warning stating that:

Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition won't stop fighting until we put an end to internet 
shutdowns globally. This trend of shutting down information to control the narrative — in Africa 
and beyond — hurts democracy, endangers online expression, and attacks our right of freedom of 
association. No more shutdowns (Access Now, 2024, p.6)

The 2019 social media blackout in Liberia made it extremely difficult for journalists to report, 
access critical information, and share updates on the protests with the public. Internet shutdowns 
also cut people off from their loved ones, which can create uncertainty during political unrest. For 
example, in 2019, people in Liberia reported being unable to communicate with their relatives 
abroad during the shutdown (Access Now, 2023). Shutting down the internet during a crisis 
exacerbates existing tensions, spurs the spread of misinformation, and may even instigate or 
conceal violence and human rights violations perpetrated by both state and non-state actors. 

During electoral periods, human rights defenders, election observers, civil society actors, and 
other stakeholders rely on the internet to monitor and report on elections, facilitating 
transparency and openness in the democratic process. Internet shutdowns make it difficult for 
citizens and stakeholders to participate in the electoral process (Access Now, 2023). Political 
candidates cannot engage with their supporters, and the documentation of electoral irregularities 
is impeded. This not only undermines civic engagement and electoral integrity; it also threatens 
human rights such as the right to freedom of expression and access to information.

The Chadian Case Study

Since July 22, 2020, the government of Chad has blocked access to WhatsApp, and up until 
August 18, 2020, authorities also cut access or slowed down the internet in parts of the country. 
Citing the need to prevent the spread of messages “inciting hate and division” on social media, 
government authorities reportedly took these drastic measures to prevent dissemination of a 
video and images, taken on July 14, 2020, showing a Chadian military officer opening fire on a 
mechanic who also attacked him with a knife during a dispute (Access Now, 2023). The 
implication of this ban on democracy could be expressed in the violation of fundamental rights of 
citizens of the country such as freedom of speech and expression. In Chad, the government lifted a 
16-month social media ban in July 2019 thereby ending what was the longest social media 
blockade seen in any African country. The Chadian government argued that the lengthy ban was 
necessary for “security reasons” Dwyer and Molony, (2019). The Chadian case highlights the 
way social media has increasingly been framed as a threat, especially by authoritarian leaders. 
Since the beginning of 2019 at least nine other African countries have also experienced 
government ordered internet shutdowns. Dwyer and Molony went further that “Political leaders 
often view social media as a threat because it can provide the public with greater access to 

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information. It, also, has the potential to mobilize and challenge leadership. Some authors found 
ways in which digital platforms were creatively used to expand political participation.

The Case of Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, Macmillan (2020) stated that during the 2018 elections, Twitter became a space 
where the physical violence prevalent in Zimbabwe's previous elections was enacted through 
discourse. It was also a space where opposition supporters challenged the hegemony of the ruling 
party and provided a space for political resistance.

The July 2018 Zimbabwe national elections were characterized by one unique feature: the 
extensive use of social media especially Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook, especially by the key 
presidential contenders Nelson Chamisa and Emmerson Mnangagwa in the struggle for 
hegemony. The cyber-contestation also became evident between Chamisa's followers nicknamed 
“Nerorists” and Mnangagwa's followers nicknamed “Varakashi” (Chibuwe, 2020, p. 12).  Fake 
news and mudslinging became defining elements during these digital propaganda battles. Social 
media gained prominence in the election, its contribution to democracy is paradoxical. The 
anonymity and open nature of social media provides an opportunity for participation, but it is 
precisely this that is also its downside: it provides rooms for emergence of cyber ghosts. The 
space's invasion by cyber storm troopers and/or cyber ghosts and netizens serving elite interests 
undermined social media's liberative potential as it resulted in irrational debates, mudslinging, 
insults, and outright lies.

Arab Spring

The Arab Spring was a series of pro-democracy uprisings, protests, and revolutions that swept 
through the Arab world in 2010 and 2011. The movement was characterized by mass 
demonstrations, calls for political reform, and demands for greater social justice and economic 
opportunities. The Arab Spring had its roots in long-standing grievances against authoritarian 
regimes, corruption, economic inequality, and lack of political freedoms in many Arab countries. 
The spark that ignited the Arab Spring was the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a street 
vendor in Tunisia, in December 2010. Bouazizi's act of protest against government corruption and 
repression resonated with many Tunisians and sparked widespread demonstrations and calls for 
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down (Wolfsfeld, et al., 2013). 

The 2011 Arab Spring upheavals showed how social media may have a revolutionary effect on 
modern international politics. People all around the Middle East and North Africa were mobilized 
to take part in large-scale rallies and demonstrations thanks, in large part, to social media sites like 
Facebook and Twitter. Social media was important in making the movement successful because it 
made it possible for information to be shared quickly and for protests to be organized. A new era of 
online activism and political involvement was ushered in by the Arab Spring, which demonstrated 
social media's capacity to oppose repressive governments and advance political change 
(Wolfsfeld, et al., 2013). The demonstrations were caused by high unemployment, food inflation, 
corruption, a lack of political freedoms (such as freedom of speech), and poor living conditions. 
There were series of protests and uprisings in late 2010 and early 2011 that challenged some of the 
Middle East and North Africa's entrenched dictatorships. Protesters demanding greater political 
rights, economic equality, and government accountability often faced violent repression by their 
countries' security forces. In December 2010 for instance protests began in central Tunisia against 
what the people described as corrupt and authoritarian government and quickly spread to the rest 

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of the country due to massive use of social media platforms. Protesters soon overwhelmed the 
capital, forcing the Tunisia President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to resign and flee in January 2011 
(Sofi, 2019). 

Black Lives Matter

The Black Lives Matter movement has emerged as a powerful force for social and political 
change in contemporary global politics, with social media playing a crucial role in its growth and 
impact in parts of the world including Africa. The movement began in July 2013, with the use of 
the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the 
shooting to death of an African-American teen, Trayvon Martin, 17 months earlier in February 
2012. The movement returned to national headlines and gained further international attention 
during the global George Floyd protests in 2020 following his murder by Minneapolis police 
officer Derek Chauvin. An estimated 15 million to 26 million people participated in the 2020, 
Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, making it one of the largest movements in the 
country's history (Wikipedia, 2024). It comprised many views and a broad array of demands but 
they centered on criminal justice reform.

The popularity of Black Lives Matter has shifted over time. In 2023, about 51% of adults in the 
United States expressed their support for the movement, while in 2020 some 67% of Americans 
expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement (Statista, 2020). African countries like 
Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa also joined the global protests in response to the death of 
George Floyd and called for an end to police brutality in the USA. This again brought to bear, the 
power of social media. 

The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag campaign was initiated by Nigerian activists to highlight the 
kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in 2014. The First Lady, Michelle Obama, 
later tweeted the hashtag to garner supported the campaign. It was primarily driven by Nigerians 
and international supporters to raise awareness and press for action (Tufekci, 2017). The hashtag 
gained global traction, becoming a symbol of solidarity with the girls and their families, and a 
call to world leaders to secure their release. It sparked widespread outrage and condemned Boko 
Haram's actions, putting pressure on the Nigerian government and the international community 
to intensify efforts to bring the girls back safely. The campaign highlighted the broader issue of 
violence against women and children in conflict zones and served as a powerful tool for 
advocacy and mobilization, highlighting the need for concerted action to address the threat posed 
by extremist groups and prioritize the protection and empowerment of women and girls 
worldwide.

On the whole, the case studies of some African countries above underscore the undisputed 
impact of social media on contemporary politics in Africa and other parts of the world. While 
social media has played a key role in mobilizing citizens to demand political change (Shirky, 
2011) and raise awareness about critical issues, it has also been used to spread misinformation, 
sow political polarization, and undermine democratic processes (Tufekci, 2017). The spread of 
misinformation and fake news has been particularly evident during political campaigns, where 
candidates or political parties can use social media to disseminate misleading or false 
information about their opponents or issues. This can have real-world consequences, such as 
swaying public opinion, suppressing voter turnout, or even influencing the outcome of elections 
(Baum, & Potter, 2019). Furthermore, the spread of misinformation and propaganda on social 
media can also contribute to the polarization of society. False information that reinforces existing 
beliefs and biases can create a sense of distrust and hostility towards those with differing 

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viewpoints, leading to an "us vs. them" mentality (Howard, et al., 2016). These examples 
highlight the complex and nuanced relationship between social media and politics, underscoring 
the need for greater regulation, transparency, and accountability in the digital sphere. Overall, 
these case studies provide valuable insights into the evolving influence of social media on the 
political landscape, offering important lessons for policymakers, activists, and citizens alike.

Challenges of Social Media in Democratization Process in Africa

There is no doubt that social media has become one of the major agencies of the democratization 
process across the world. However, there are many challenges facing social media as a 
democratisation tool. Ideas are the critical issues in a democracy and lack of cogent ideas mar the 
democratic process. One of the major limitations of social media as a democratization tool is that 
it disseminates mostly lopsided ideas. Therefore, without efficient communication of ideas, 
mobilization is ineffectual. 

It is interesting to note that on one hand, while majority of social media users in Africa who 
criticize political developments are youths, on the other hand, most of these youths neither have 
voters' cards nor go out to cast their votes during elections. This is what Ihembe (2018) referred to 
as “twitterian and whatsapparian” generation. Though, the social media helped in sharing 
information which shape people's opinions and mobilizations, its limited access to people in the 
hinterlands and illiterate population require that, we must go out and mobilize people to 
participate in the political process. The effects of sharing information on social media without 
engaging the excluded population can be debilitating on our democracy. This is because all 
activities start with being informed; next is conviction; and ultimately for some, direct 
involvement in rallies and sometimes direct confrontation with authority. Therefore, the 
consequence of not involving all and sundry, can best be compared to Montesquieu (1748) view 
that the tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not as dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy 
of the citizens in a democracy. Sharing ideas on social media without actually engaging in the 
process is an exercise in futility.

To further buttress the above argument, the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2019, 
stated that there were 11,228,582 million uncollected voters' cards in its custody as at 20th 
February, 2019 (Channels Television, 2019). Change cannot be effected online but through the 
ballot box. The implication of this is that, if the people disparage or malign each other on the 
social media without actually coming out to vote or mobilise others to do so, the change they 
desire to make may end up being a mirage. Even the collection of voters cards can be enhanced by 
social media messages.

The spate of fake news and hate speech on social media on political events is also a serious threat 
to the democratization process. The proliferation of fake news and hate speech on social media is 
a significant issue in Nigeria, as it can lead to violence, societal divisions, and undermine trust in 
institutions, a concern prevalent in many other nations. One instance of fake news in Nigeria was 
that of Lauretta Onochie, a media aide to President Buhari, who was accused of sharing fake news 
on social media. She posted a new road which she claimed was constructed by President Buhari. 
It turned out that the road was actually a picture from Rwanda. Ms Onochie later apologized on 
her Twitter account saying “My big mistake, apologies to all, friends and wailers alike. It won't 
happen again” (CNN, 2019). She also shared on her Twitter handle, photos of a rally by the 
Presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar sharing 
food packs with money bearing the caption “Keep them in poverty, then give them handouts-
Atiku in Sokoto yesterday,” (CNN, 2019). It turned out that this was another fake news.

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The then Minister of Defence, Mansur-Dan Ali conceded that fake news was a serious problem in 
Nigeria by stating that the Federal Government planned to monitor social media accounts of 
prominent Nigerians to contain “the propagation of hate speeches” (Wakili, 2018). Many 
Nigerians criticized the move and alleged that it was a plan to gag people's freedom. It also 
became curious to note that the All Progressives Congress (APC) that made massive political 
gains out of social media usage during the 2015 general election would turn around to gag the 
social media community in Nigeria. The All Progressives Congress (APC) wanted to prevent the 
transmission of false statements or declaration of facts in Nigeria as well as end the financing of 
online mediums that transmit false statements. 

Equally important is the demarcation line between hate speech and constructive criticism. Hate 
speech is any speech that has the intent of denigrating, repressing, harassing and causing the 
death of a person or group of persons on the basis of tribal affiliation, sex, religion or ethnic 
group. For instance, the hate speech expressed by Oba Akiolu of Lagos:

On Saturday, if anyone of you, I swear in the name of God, goes against my wish that Ambode 
will be the next governor of Lagos state, the person is going to die inside this water … For the 
Igbos and others in Lagos, they should go where the Oba of Lagos heads to …. (Godwin 2015, 
p.1).

This is because many political leaders in Africa term constructive criticism as hate speech in 
order to deter people from bringing into limelight the inadequacies of the government in power to 
public knowledge.

The problem of unequal access to the internet also limits the role of social media as a 
democratization tool. This is what technology experts call “Digital Divide”. Mehra (2004) 
defined the term 'Digital Divide' as “the troubling gap between those who use computers and the 
internet and those who do not". The divide is associated with several factors but majorly, the issue 
of digital divide is linked to illiteracy, income and poor telecommunication facilities. In many 
less industrialized economies, low literacy rates limit the usage of internet services users.

Poverty is another major factor limiting access to the use of social media in Africa. According to 
Statista (2023), in 2022, the extreme poverty rate in Africa stood at around 50 percent among the 
rural population, compared to 10 percent in urban areas. Together with poverty, malnutrition is 
also widespread in Africa. Limited access to food leads to low health conditions, increasing the 
poverty. The Brooking Institution reported that 87 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty and 
that six people fall below poverty line after every six minutes (Vanguard Newspaper, 2018). How 
can such a huge population who are struggling to survival be able to afford data for social media? 
In addition, despite the fact that Nigeria has the biggest market in Africa in the 
telecommunication industry, the cost of data is still out of reach of many people. The poor state of 
telecommunication infrastructures in Africa has also not helped matters. Poor network is the 
leading problem associated with the infrastructure.

Conclusion

The impact of social media on politics in Africa is significant and multifaceted. It has transformed 
political communication, mobilization, and engagement, providing a platform for citizens to 
voice their opinions and hold their leaders accountable. Social media has also been instrumental 
in facilitating political movements and protests, leading to both positive and negative outcomes. 
It has influenced election campaigns and the dissemination of political information, contributing 
to both transparency and misinformation. Overall, the influence of social media on politics in 

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Africa cannot be understated, and it continues to shape the political landscape on the continent. 

Recommendations

i. Governments and relevant authorities in Africa should establish clear regulations and oversight 
mechanisms to ensure responsible use of social media in political contexts, while also 
safeguarding freedom of expression.

ii. Efforts should be made by African governments to expand the school curriculum to media 
literacy to equip the people with the ability to apply critical thinking skills and evaluate political 
information as well as news shared on social media by political actors and their supporters.

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