THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE PANIC WITHDRAWAL OF SCHOOL STUDENTS OVER THE RUMOURED ARMY KILLER VACCINE

Abstract

As we move from the previous analogic or traditional society to the dot.com age, social media resources have not only influenced, but are redefining the whole essence of sitymodes of social interaction in contemporary Nigeria is Rumour mongering. Although people often refer to it as hearsay or common talk, in our today Nigeria, rumour permeates every strata of our society, and gradually, the mongering of rumour is gaining ground. The social media therefore, provided the grounds for some users to conceive and spread the rumour that the military men were overpowering teachers in schools they allegedly visited and administering the drugs to their victims without their consent. The rumour claimed some pupils who had been inoculated slumped and were rushed to medical facilities. It was speculated on the social media that the Federal Government was out on a diabolical mission to inject people in some parts of the country with monkey pox in the guise of vaccination. Using descriptive data analysis of academic literature, it was found that the rumour mostly originated from individual sources as posted on facebook by unknown user, and subsequently twitted before being shared on interactive chatting platforms and groups like whatsapp, and Blackberry messenger. Also, it was observed that the misrepresentation of the medical outreach by the Army by the rumour mongers was as a deliberate act to get back at the Military that used ‘operation Python Dance’ to thwart the IPOB struggles and eventual naming of the IPOB as a terrorist group.   It was concluded that the reason why the rumour succeeded was because the medical mission did not do sufficient public awareness before starting the programme. And because people did not understand the purpose of the mission, they subscribed to the rumour which eventually aborted the programme. Among other things, it was recommended that Well-intended future programmes must not take the people for granted. Rather, sufficient public awareness must be done before starting such programme. That way, there wouldn’t be opportunity for people to mislead other users through rumours on the social media channels.