Social media bullying during the Makerere University 2023 guild elections.

Abstract

This study sought to examine bullying on social media during the Makerere University 2023 guild elections. It specifically examined the impact of social media bullying during the guild elections. The study was qualitative in nature, this is so by the analysis made on the different social media platforms of how the various candidate were brutally handled during their online campaigns. Several people who posted their candidates were removed from the different social media platforms thus making it very challenging for them to keep up with their online campaigns. Also interviews were used in the data collection process as a sample of students and guild aspirants were interviewed on the various challenges they have faced during their guild race. The findings of this study indicate that social media bullying is inevitable and as long as the University Council decides to continue with the online voting forum, there will still be a persistent increase in the rate of social media bullying and black mails during the Makerere University Guild elections. Further several candidates complained of black mails from their various oppositions as a strategy of tarnishing their images thus losing pubic trust and confidence in them. Also the various candidates complained that they found it very hard to keep up with this online campaigns because of the various challenges that they end up facing from the various social media platforms.