Analysis of Facebook and Twitter Usage in Ghana's 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections

Abstract

This chapter discusses the growing use of social media during election campaigns in Ghana. It examines how social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter became preferred tools for voter engagement, mobilisation and campaign for political parties and their presidential and parliamentary candidates in the 2020 elections in Ghana. It establishes that social media are gradually surpassing traditional/legacy media as the preferred media choice for political mobilisation, civic engagement and political communication in Ghana. The chapter reviews the European Union Election Observation Mission (EOM) report through social media affordance lens. This chapter attempts to answer two critical questions: To what extent did political parties and presidential candidates in Ghana use social media in electioneering campaigns during the 2020 elections and, which social media platforms were highly preferred by political parties and presidential candidates in engaging the electorate? The EOM's data indicators show the prominence of Facebook and Twitter as significant in political party campaigns during the period under study. Preliminary analysis also points out that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and their presidential candidate, Nana Akufo Addo including the opposition National Democratic Congress and their leader, John Dramani Mahama, spent thousands of dollars on Facebook advertisements for extensive voter mobilisation.

Citation

Anson Boateng, K.J. and Buatsi, R. (2023), "Analysis of Facebook and Twitter Usage in Ghana's 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections", Dralega, C.A. (Ed.) Digitisation, AI and Algorithms in African Journalism and Media Contexts, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 103-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-135-620231007