The Use of Social Media and the Impact on Political Mobilisation in Ghana’s General Elections: 2024 Elections in Retrospect

Abstract

This study explored social media impact on political mobilisation in Ghana’s General Elections, elections 2024 in retrospect. Evidence show that social media has become not only an integral part but also, an essential component of people's daily lives. Web applications such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter, as well as other computer websites such as blogs, which are termed "new media,” have made it easier for people to reconnect or connect. Social media is now a more popular means of political mobilization than the traditional print and electronic media in recent times. Accordingly, the upcoming 2024 general elections in Ghana is set against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving media landscape, with social media platforms continuously playing a role in political discourse and mobilising voters. This study employed the quantitative research approach of data collection on political mobilisation using social media as a tool for political campaigns launched by political parties, candidates, and civil society organisations to influence voters. Findings revealed that the increasing rate of social media by users of social media could partly be attributed to the ease and convenience in using them. With the increase education on social media as a tool for political mobilization and civic engagement, political parties all over the world have begun to adopt it as potential tool for mobilizing voters through posting videos and their political campaign messages targeted at their followers in this two-way open conversation that allows for exchange of information in unprecedented manner. It concludes that social media has become advantageous to everyone, including political parties as they utilise social media to mobilise followers, disseminate party policies and stances on significant socioeconomic and government issues, discuss and elicit public input on critical and current issues, and collect funding for political operations.