Thesis
A broth of ballots and falsehoods: a study of information disorder in the 2023 Nigerian presidential elections
University of Iowa
Master of Arts (MA), University of Iowa
Autumn 2023
DOI: 10.25820/etd.006859
Abstract
This thesis studies the operationalization of information disorder and its various typologies in the 2023 Nigerian Presidential elections. Through the lens of critical discourse analysis (CDA), this study analyses press statements from the four major presidential candidates and their media teams in the elections to understand how they engage with, counter and otherwise weaponize information disorder to advance their political objective with emphasis on how the global information disorder has been localized to suit the socio-political peculiarities of a specific third world democracy.
The study finds that six typologies of the phenomena, including disinformation, malinformation and misinformation are present in a significant number of the collected samples and identifies the journalistic and declarative types of statements issued by the various campaigns and in what context the identified typologies and strategies are employed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- A broth of ballots and falsehoods: a study of information disorder in the 2023 Nigerian presidential elections
- Creators
- Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
- Contributors
- Brian Ekdale (Advisor)Peter Gross (Committee Member)David Dowling (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Arts (MA), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Mass Communication
- Date degree season
- Autumn 2023
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.006859
- Number of pages
- viii, 54 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2023 Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 12/04/2023
- Description illustrations
- tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 47-54).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
- Since the US elections of 2016, the terms fake news and disinformation have gained prominence in public and academic discourse. Yet these terms are just two types of what scholars are recognising as a much wider Global Information Disorder. This global information disorder is being domesticated and localised by various actors and agents in various countries and localities to make use of the social and political situations in those places to achieve specific social, economic or political goals. Through critical discourse analysis, this study examines how, using official press statements, four leading candidates and their media teams in the 2023 Nigerian presidential elections engage with, deploy, or debunk information disorder to advance their candidacy. The study is able to identify six types of information disorder typologies deployed in these statements. Also, it identifies some of the strategies (journalistic and declarative) that these press statements employ to achieve specific goals in their use of information disorder or their engagement with it.
- Academic Unit
- School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Record Identifier
- 9984546540802771
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