Social media vs mainstream media: an analysis of the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protest

This study examines (a) how the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protest was framed within social media platforms and (b) the role that social media played in holding mainstream media accountable during the protest. Using a mixed methods research design, we analyzed contents from student protesters’ Facebook Groups, Twitter feeds of the Occupy Nigeria protests and Nairaland. We also interrogated depth interview responses from 19 students from two liberal Nigerian universities who participated in the protest. The results indicate that the protest was defined by protesters on social media platforms as a revolution while advocating that the policy to end the fuel subsidy by the government be abolished as the solution for them to end the protest. Responses also indicate that the local mainstream media were perceived as refusing to cover the protest at its inception until they were forced to do so by the protesters. This perceived inaction by the local mainstream media was cited by some respondents as a source of motivation to participate in the protest.