Social Media and Political Campaigns: Challenges and Prospects

The conversation on digital platforms and political engagement has become central to modern political life. Technology is playing a key role in advancing democracies and, more importantly, political activities across the globe; this includes political campaigns. Recent trends have shown that social media platforms are fast becoming drivers of political campaigns, with much focus on young people, as mainstream media is largely believed to be state-captured. This work assessed the advantages and disadvantages of social media on political campaigns and provided answers to questions such as whether social media platforms influence political participation, including voter mobilisation and political awareness. The work adopted the trending model to assess the conversation on social media and political campaigns, with much focus on the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, as well as the public sphere theory conceptualised by Jürgen Habermas, which emphasised that the public sphere is an arena where individuals come together to discuss societal issues, form public opinion and influence political actions through rational-critical debate. Findings revealed that social media helped effective political campaigns, encouraged political participation and also provided a platform to check the weaknesses of mainstream media. The work recommended that, to avoid issues of fake news and cyber bullying; government should enact laws that punish offenders declared guilty by a competent court of jurisdiction and promote free speech and government laws should allow individuals to seek redress in court and not impose direct government regulations or bans.