Social Media and Hate Speech

Use of Social Media in Personal Political Branding By Select Kenyan Politicians: A Case of President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 General Election.

by

Brenda Asiko

A thesis submitted to the School of Communication, Language and Performing Arts

Daystar University,

Nairobi Kenya

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

in Communication

DECEMBER 2015

1.0Chapter One

1.1Introduction

The primary role of the media is to provide information to the public. However, political leaders and vested interest groups have since taken advantage of various social media platforms to advance their political campaign with the sole objective of marketing their brands to the electorate. Undeniably, the social media has increasingly altered the culture of political campaigns across the globe by creating a virtual platform through which politicians can directly engage, as well as share information with their potential supporters. Through the removal of political and financial barriers, the social media provide user generated content, which can be distributed internationally instantaneously (Khan, 2011).

As a political tool, the social media sites develop a sense of intimacy between the constituents and the political candidate enabling the politician to draw a huge support from the wider population. Khan contend that efficacious use of these sites by the political class significantly escalate their communication and public visibility while drawing them closer to the electorate, something that boosts their success in politics. The success of the social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Myspace both in Barack Obama’s victory of the 2008 and 2012 America presidential election and in the political uprising experienced in the Arab world are clear indication of how social media can be a powerful tool for political mobilization (Maweu, 2013).Renowned political brands like Raila...