Media, Post-Truth and Information Disorder in Political Communication

Abstract

Abstract The liberalization of the broadcast media in Nigeria has provided ample opportunities for individuals to convert the usual ‘market square’ rhetoric into electronic sphere where opinions are aired without abandon. The freedom inevitably led to opportunities for disinformation which were essentially propaganda narratives meant to mislead. Such disinformation enhances assumed capabilities with the purpose of obscuring the reality on ground. This is related to misinformation which often results from lack of sufficient data and may not necessarily have any nefarious purpose. While disinformation is targeted at deliberately obscuring the truth and giving false narrative, misinformation is a reflection of inefficiency in gathering and communicating information. Both, however, serve the purpose of obscuring the truth. This leads us to Post-truth, which is a distortion of facts, colorizing them to distort their base and convey an image the facts do not have. In this discussion paper, I explore three trajectories of ‘disinformation order’ on the template of post-truth, i.e. using post-truth as a base theoretical framework. The first is in cultural communication among the Hausa of northern Nigeria, followed by political communication particularly in radio broadcast media, and finally selected examples of print political communication in the Nigerian press. Key Words: Disinformation, Misinformation, Post Truth, Information Order, Political Communication JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 14, No. 1, Special Issue 2, June 2022, pp. 12-18 © Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON). About the author Abdalla Uba Adamu, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Information and Media Studies, Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria Article Citation Adamu, A. U. (2022). Media, Post-Truth and Information Disorder in Political Communication. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 14 (1, SP. 2): 12– 18. Full Article Words: 4,378 Pages: 7 To access full article, click on download.