The Quest for Development: When Social Media-Brokered Political Power Encounters Political 'Flak Jackets'

TL;DR

This paper examines how social media's rapid spread of contentious content challenges political regimes' censorship efforts, using interviews from Nigeria to explore the dynamics of digital activism and repression.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of social media features as 'digital bullets' that threaten regime stability and analyzes their impact on censorship strategies in Nigeria.

Findings

Social media accelerates the spread of contentious content against regimes.

Censorship is used as a 'flak jacket' to defend against digital attacks.

Contentious online discourse influences political power dynamics.

Abstract

Social media provides an extended space for collective action, as netizens leverage it as a tool for claim-making and for demanding the dividends of governance. However, political regimes often greet expanding use of social media with censorship, which netizens often have to contend with, particularly in the quest for development outcomes. While existing studies having expansively explored multiple uses of social media, the specific features that signal their massive uptake and how this intersects with the quest for political power has not been substantially documented. This paper argues that social media is characterized by social buttons that expedite the multiplication of 'digital bullets' - in forms of tweets and perceived detestable comments - which compromise the defense lines of political regimes, hence, their uptake of censorship as metaphorical 'flak jackets'. This research is conducted on the basis of key informant interviews with voices against social media censorship in Nigeria since the inception of Nigeria's ruling government in 2015, particularly following the proposed 'Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill' in 2019.