Social Media and Political Awareness: Analysis of the Posts Shared by the Leading Pakistani Political Parties

Abstract

Social networking platforms are becoming popular in Pakistan. General public and political leaders equally make use of social media for satisfying their information and other social needs. Political leaders in particular go online to catch up as many supporters as they can for their political activities. Political activities of the politicians in turn help create political awareness among the people. The present study analyzed the use of Facebook and Twitter by Pakistani leading political parties – Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN), Pakistan Tehreek E Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan People Party (PPP) and their respective leaders for creating political awareness in the public. The study was quantitative and employed content analysis techniques. The study was focused on finding out political contents posted by the three major Pakistani political parties and their leaders on Facebook and Twitter from June 1-30, 2021 for creating political awareness in the public. For this purpose, Facebook, and Twitter accounts from the respective official websites were accessed. Data regarding political contents in terms of posts, tweets and subsequent following in the form of likes, comments, and shares was collected during the stated period. The study found that the three major political parties and their leaders made use of Facebook and Twitter for creating political awareness in the people.