Information Manipulation and Societal Instability: Challenges to Achieving a Sustainable Democratic Processes
Abstract
Democratic governance is characterized by citizens’ participation, equality, political tolerance, accountability, transparency, bill of rights, human rights, and multi-party system, among others. These underpinning principles are most germane for a society that is desirous of robust development. There is a popular slogan that ‘politicians can promise to build bridges where there is no river’ and can justify why a relationship or bilateral agreement need not be sustained. This is consequent upon language usage and determination by speakers and situation principal actors. This paper adopted qualitative research method to discuss major issues in information manipulation in the political space. It discusses the key term of language and information manipulation and debated how it interfaces with politics, national and international relations. The study recommended among others that the political class should stop the manipulation of information to divert public attention and opinion from issues to inconsequentiality; the strengthening of the courts and anti-corruption institutions to tackle the hydra-headed challenge of deception of the electorates by the members of the political class during the electioneering campaign; strong advocacy for civic and value re-orientation to suppressing this political ill; protection of the electoral management mechanism and structure from partisanship to reduce the high level of discredited election results, electoral politicization to enshrining legitimacy; and press freedom to allow for free operation so as to engender socio- political engineering.
Keywords
DemocratizationInformation ManipulationPoliticsNational and International
References
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