Online Political Advertising and Voting Decisions during the 2019 General Elections in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

The study set out to investigate if the voting decisions of voters in Akwa Ibom in the 2019 general elections were based on exposure to online political advertisements. Specific objectives of the paper examined if voters in Akwa ibom State were exposed to online political advertising during general elections in Akwa Ibom State and also ascertain the predominant online platforms with political advertisements that appealed to voters during the general elections in Akwa Ibom State. The study was anchored on the technological determinism theory. The survey research design was adopted, with the questionnaire serving as instrument for data collection from 400 sampled respondents. Findings from the study showed that majority of the respondents were exposed to online political advertising messages, which had contributed to their decisions in making a choice of candidates. Facebook, Twitter, Websites, Whatsapp and Instagram were predominant online platforms with political advertising messages that had appealed to Voters during general elections in Akwa Ibom State. Findings also showed that respondents had a far reaching exposure to online political advertising through online platforms, with Facebook, being the most predominant platform that offered the most exposure to respondents during general elections in Akwa Ibom State. The study recommended that political parties should channel resources to online political advertising practitioners through engagement of more online platforms and not a selective predominant platform to reach a wider targeted audience.