Perception of Abakaliki Residents on Social Media Coverage of Covid-19 Pandemic: Implication for Crisis Management in Nigeria

Abstract

The spread of new technological tools have significantly promoted globalization and aided ordinary citizens to become news vendors. These technologies beat checkpoints and have limited quality control standards. This study adopted the survey research design to examine the perception of Abakaliki residents on the coverage of covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Findings revealed that many discrepancies exist between news management in the social media and professional journalism. Findings showed that the social media carry lots of news items of public interest which the mainstream media ignore. Also, though the social media is stronger in covering official corruption and bad governance, the absence of checkpoints makes it unprofessional. The study recommended the strengthening of social media for complimentary journalism as well as the keeping of a strong data base of all citizens to check the practice.