Browsing by Author "Akpede, Kaior Samuel"

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    Analysis of Social Media Messages on COVID-19
    (Journal of Human Development and Communication, 2022) Udende, Patrick; Akpede, Kaior Samuel; Adisa, Rasaq Mohammed; Mahamood, Ahmad Fahmi; Abdullah, Shuhairimi; Abdulbaqi, audat S.; Abubakar, Y. Ibrahim; La’aro, Oba Abdulkadir
    There is a rich literature on health communication generally. Most of these literatures dwell on diseases and viruses (see Kampf, Todt, Pfaender & Steinermann, 2020). However, rarely is anything found on the emergent virus COVID-19 otherwise known as Corona virus. This gives impetus to the study which aim is to analyse messages people post on social media about the virus. A purposive sampling of selected messages on ASUU Congress Whatsapp platform of Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Ilorin Chapter was used for the analysis between 1st January and 31st March 2020. Results show that most of the messages were on preventive measures as their hallmark was to create awareness on how to forestall people from being vulnerable to it. The study concludes that outbreak of novel diseases and viruses are bound to emerge, and social media will continue to serve as platforms for people to share messages about emerging diseases and viruses. Among other things, the study recommends sustained use of the social media by people to share not only preventive but also corrective measures about viruses as they emerge.
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    Rethinking Communication Space in the Era of COVID-19
    (Benin Mediacom Journal, Department of Mass Communication, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, 2020) Udende, Patrick; Akpede, Kaior Samuel; Adisa, Rasaq Mohammed
    The outbreak of COVID-19 has altered the space people naturally maintain in the course of interpersonal, group, and public communication. The shift in paradigm is a conscious measure aimed at averting the exponential rate of infections and death that could be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite existing literature on communication space, it is unlikely studies have been conducted to show the new dimension in communication space that emphasises on social distancing. This forms the basis for this conceptual study which rationale is to establish the extent to which the outbreak of Corona virus contributes in redefining how people use and organise space at this auspicious moment of the global pandemic that encourages social distancing across cultures. To achieve this, the study, which is anchored on communication accommodation theory, examines Edward T. Hall’s four phases that characterise communication space namely intimate distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance. While the study acknowledges the fact that use and organisation of space across cultures is not homogenous, it concludes that the outbreak of Corona virus has redefined how even people within a cultural setting relate among themselves. The study recommends among other things the need for people to embrace social distancing and avoid public gatherings to reflect the exigency of the moment.
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    SOCIAL MEDIA AND COVID-19 CONSPIRACY THEORIES’ AMPLIFICATION OF MISLEADING INFORMATION B
    (Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Limited, 2022) Udende, Patrick; Akpede, Kaior Samuel; Omoloso, A.I.; Abubakar, I.Y.
    The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has attracted academic discourse in different respects. These studies range from role of social media in information dissemination to effects of COVID 19 outbreak on society. Despite attempts made to investigate the emerging conspiracy theories in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, rarely does literature underscores how social media serve as platform to amplify COVID-19-related conspiracy theories that find social media as platform to viralise the misleading information embedded in the theories. Premised on this, this study was carried out to articulate the place of the conspiracy theories as misleading information pertaining to COVID-19 pandemic on social media platforms. Anchored on public sphere theory, the study argues that misleading information on social media as encapsulated in the theories have negative consequences including non-adherence to scientific measures to address the menace of COVID 19, stereotype of groups or countries, and erosion of trust and confidence in governments and other agencies, and spiraling infections and deaths mainly due to media illiteracy. The study recommends among other things the need for people to discountenance misleading information through media literacy as well as strictly adhere to non-pharmaceutical and scientific measures meant to reduce the rate of infections and deaths worldwide. It also recommends that developers of social media platforms should strengthen effort in deploying fact-checkers to dispel misleading information and make available and easily visible authoritative COVID-19- related content.
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    Social Media as Sources of News for Nigerian Broadcast Media
    (Kwararafa University, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria, 2020-06) Akpede, Kaior Samuel; Udende, Patrick; Omoloso, Aisha Imam
    The advent of Internet and social media has spurred research interest in broadcast media in particular and the media ecology in general. However, most of these studies centre on use of social media with emphasis on how users including broadcast journalists deploy social media for certain purposes. An aspect understudied is how social media constitute sources of news for broadcast media especially in Nigeria thereby creating a geographical gap. On account of this, a study was undertaken with the objective of providing insights into how broadcast journalists rely on social media as sources of news which they reproduce and broadcast. Anchored on source credibility theory, the study argues that Internet and social media have widened the dimensions of mass media use as journalists no longer source news only from common sources like officials, organisations, institutions, events and natural phenomenon, but also from social media platforms. The study concludes that the imperative of social media in media ecology with their attendant shortcomings is indubitable. The study recommends among other things the need for broadcast journalists to upscale their training to be able to grapple with technological challenges confronting them while discharging their duties in the new technological media environment.