Media and Politics: Political Communication in the Digital Age

Abstract

This chapter simply discussed how political communication has been carried out in this age of social media. Political communication is the communication of political ideologies by the political communicator to the audience who happen to be the electorates. Like the regular communication process, it also uses both the traditional media and the new media. Politicians however, have started employing fake news and hate speech in the content of their political messages. Fake speech are of three types: misinformation, disinformation and malinformation. With more and more people relying on social media for as a source for news, there are worries that such content could influence audiences unable to distinguish truth from fact or news from propaganda. From television to radio, to cinemas, to music, to newspaper, books, social media, etc., politicians use everything and anything to communicate to their audience. Politicians employ political advertising to reach out to their teeming supporters and followers. These political advertising are incorporated with adverting jingles (especially on radio). The basic elements of political communication are: ideology, propaganda and persuasion. The researcher however, concluded that politicians, not only in Nigerian, but the world over, although they are much in Nigeria, have taken political communication and its approach to a totally different and negative height by employing hate speech and fake news in their campaign messages. Rather than taking their time to inform the electorates of their plans for them and how they wish to achieve it, they spend all day and energy on insulting and de-marketing the opponents through hate speech and fake news. They don’t stop there, they also make inciting posts on social media which often leaves their gullible followers to be at loggerheads all the time.

Keywords: Media, politics, political communication, digital media, new media, traditional media, social media, fake news, hate speech