WhatsApp, a cross-platform messaging and voice over service owned by Facebook, strengthens accountability and promotes inclusion in Nigeria’s democracy, particularly in the conduct of the 2019 general elections, according to Uk-Nigeria research findings. It, however, also promotes the spread of “fake news” around the elections, the findings said.
The research which was jointly conducted by the Centre for Democracy and Development (Nigeria) and University of Birmingham (UK) presented key findings from a WhatsApp-sponsored research project on the role of WhatsApp in Nigeria’s 2019 elections.
Drawing on citizen surveys and interviews with political campaigns, the report underlines the ways in which WhatsApp has promoted the spread of “fake news” around elections but had also strengthened accountability and promoted inclusion in other areas.
