The Usage of Social Media in Political Campaigns: A study of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communication Strategies in Ghana's 2020 Presidential elections

Abstract

This study investigated how the two major political parties in Ghana, New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) used social media in their political campaigns during the 2020 presidential elections. The study also explored the perception of experts and the communication strategies used by both NPP and NDC during the 2020 presidential election. The study also investigated social media usage by NDC and NPP in the 2020 presidential elections campaigns. Another specific objective was to examine which social media strategies were used in alignment with the dialogic communication model. The final specific objective examined challenges faced regarding the usage of social media by NPP and NDC in the 2020 presidential election. Recommendation was made for further studies on how social media is used in political campaigns. The study adopted the qualitative methodology using in-depth interview to understand from various interviewees how social media. Findings indicate that the 2020 presidential elections for easy targeting, smart was of creating content production and also promotion of policies and other interventions from both parties. The study also found out that social media provided an avenue for dialogic communication but politicians were not utilizing it effectively. The study also found out that social media was very instrumental in the 2020 presidential elections but had some challenges. Among this challenges include, cost, inconsistent communication, the spread of false information, inability to control communication, inadequate technical personnel and finally, challenges associated with political content appropriation.