The Impact of Facebook on Election Campaigns: (Case Study of Mogadishu Somalia)

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of Facebook on election campaigns in Mogadishu, with a focus on identifying the positive and negative effects of using Facebook as a political tool. In Somalia, Facebook has emerged as one of the most popular social media platforms, with a significant portion of the population using the platform to communicate and access information. As such, it has become increasingly important to understand the impact of Facebook on election campaigns in Mogadishu. Although Facebook has become a popular platform for political campaigning globally, little is known about the impact of Facebook on election campaigns in Mogadishu, Somalia. Given the country's recent history of political instability and the increasing role of social media in shaping public opinion, there is a need to study the impact of Facebook on election campaigns in Mogadishu. The article used a descriptive research design employing a quantitative approach to quantify occurrences, describe current conditions, and investigate the impact of Facebook on election campaigns in Mogadishu, Somalia. The target populations that participated in the study were the faculty of social science and other administration staff at Somali National University, with a total of 100 participants. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires, and SPSS was utilised for descriptive analysis. The research findings suggested that Facebook is a popular source of information and a common platform for receiving political messages during election campaigns in Mogadishu, Somalia. The majority of the participants use Facebook almost daily, and a significant proportion have used it as a source of information for the latest election campaign. Additionally, many participants have encountered political posts on Facebook during the campaign, with the majority reporting seeing them with a range of frequencies. This study recommends that Facebook implement measures to combat online harassment and protect users' safety during election campaigns, given that a significant proportion of respondents have witnessed or experienced online harassment related to election campaigns on Facebook