Cambridge Analytica's online disinformation and propaganda in Nigeria: Does local culture reveal limits in persuasion and influencer activities?

Olabode, S

doi:10.4324/9781003256878

Cambridge Analytica's online disinformation and propaganda in Nigeria: Does local culture reveal limits in persuasion and influencer activities?

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Shola Olabode ORCiD

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Abstract

The media’s influence during political campaigning has evolved in recent years. Social media and online platforms have become an environment exploited by politicians and their constituents for propaganda and psychological purposes and manifested through social media disinformation. Disinformation and misinformation using such techniques has attracted the interest of the media and political and scholarly discourse, given the scope, scale and impact on the democratic fabric. However, research is still limited in an African-centered context. This chapter aims to add to the debate by exploring influencer activities’ methodologies and narratives during Nigeria’s electoral campaigning. The chapter draws on a range of evidence with a specific focus on the use of a video produced during Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential election campaign to consider the deliberate spread of false information. The video itself is attributed to the now-defunct Cambridge Analytica. This evidence indicates that the Cambridge Analytica consultancy exploited Nigeria’s deep ideological divisions in a propaganda and disinformation campaign on social media that appealed to entrenched political discords. A qualitative approach guides this study, with thematic analysis of online news sources, semi-structured interviews and audio-visual documentary evidence. The conclusion offers recommendations for the Influence Industry and the governance of digital space against misinformation and disinformation.