Cyberspace and fake news: A new phenomenon in electoral politics in Ghana

The electoral processes of Ghana have transformed tremendously with the emergence of cyberspace. The electoral commission of Ghana has engaged in the dissemination of information, compilation of registration data, and electoral results are all exhibited on social media today through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter platforms. There is also an easy way of campaigning by political parties with civil societies and citizens registering their protest on social media and mainstream media. Irrespective of the gains in the democratic dispensation in Ghana, recent electoral skirmishes and disagreement due to fake social media news has ignited a debate to reassess cyberspace through which information circulates, especially, social media and mainstream media to guard against misinformation and possible electoral violence as transpired in various circles of Ghanaian elections from the referendum, general elections to by-elections in Ghana's democratic development. Thus, this work discusses the issue of Ghana's electoral development, fake news, and the way forward for knowing and understanding fake news in the age of cyberspace which is vital for democratic development. The thesis utilizes content and discourse analysis in an Internet Mediated Research (IMR) with a cyberethnographic design of a qualitative approach in analyzing the impact of cyberspace in electoral politics in Ghana. The findings of the thesis reveal that cyberspace have great influence on electoral politics in Ghana both negative and positive.