Mobile Media and Citizen Journalism in Social Activism: A Case Of #Fixthecountry Movement

Abstract

The proliferation of smartphones among citizens in Ghana has accelerated their contribution to user-generated media content on social media to political discourse and activism in Ghana. The attention of researchers on citizens-led political activism on social media platforms against economic quagmire and political failures has not been impressive. The present study explored the communication styles and challenges used by citizen journalists in #Fix-the-Country Movement on social media in Ghana. The study adopted qualitative research approach and case study design. Using purposive sampling and snowballing, the researcher selected five convenors and ten citizen journalists for interviews and ten selected online posts from the official Facebook handle of #FixTheCountry movement. Guided by social movement theories, the researcher analyzed the data and discovered that citizen journalists utilized hostile communication style largely to communicate their grievances through the social media platform. The communication styles were effective, and this was informed by the platform or channel of delivering the information. Also, the study revealed that convenors and citizen journalists faced challenges such as threats from political authorities, financial constraints, verbal attacks and politicization of the movement. The underlying factors that preempted the movement are social, economic, health, governance and educational issues in the country, Ghana. The researcher recommends comparative study of social activism onsite and online.