What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to explore social media platforms that facilitate hate speech in Nigeria and identify contributing factors.

June 18, 2026

An analysis of the major factors of hate speech in the Nigerian digital environment

Key Points

This research aims to explore social media platforms that facilitate hate speech in Nigeria and identify contributing factors.
Analyzed secondary data from existing literature and empirical works.
Examined social media channels used for hate speech, focusing on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter.
Identified factors contributing to the spread of hate speech based on political, ethnic, and religious interests.
Identified Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter as primary platforms for hate speech in Nigeria.
Revealed political interests, freedom of speech, and ethnic/religious sentiments as major factors for hate speech proliferation.
Suggested that anti-hate laws and proactive counter-statements could help mitigate hate speech on social media.

Abstract

Abstract Relying on the existing literature and empirical works, this study takes explorative perspective to identifying social media platforms that mostly propagate hate speech in Nigeria and some of the factors responsible for its spread. Anchored on the assumptions of the technological determinism theory and based on secondary data in the literature, this study found Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter as the mostly used digital channels for hate speech among Nigerians. It was also found that explosion of hate speech on social media were factored by political interests and freedom of speech as well as ethnic and religious sentiments. it is therefore suggested that the menace of hate speech on social media can be mitigated if the Nigerian government could come up with anti-hate laws and proactive counter-statements policy through the instrumentation of Nigerian Communication Commission and the National Orientation Agency. Key Words: Social Media, Hate Speech, Technological Determinism, Regulatory Agencies, Nigeria About the Authors * Jacob Suemo, Ph.D., is of the Department of Mass Communication, Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria. ** Murtada Busair Ahmad, Ph.D., is of the Department of Mass Communication, Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria. *** Abdullateef Mohammed is of the Department of Mass Communication, Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria. JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 16, No. 1, April 2024, pp. 32-46 © Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON). Article Citation Suemo, J., Ahmad, M. B. & Mohammed, A., (2024). An analysis of the major factors of hate speech in the Nigerian digital environment. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 16 (1): 32-46. Full Article Words: 7,141 Pages: 15 To access full article, click on download.

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