Social media and Fiji’s 2018 national election

Abstract

Political campaigning on social media in Fiji was first witnessed in the 2014 national election. In the Fiji 2018 general election, social media political campaigning had evolved with greater complexity and a wider variety of implications. This research examines and highlights the use of social media by political parties and candidates in the 2018 national elections. This examination provides comparative social media discussions between the two elections; 2014 and 2018. The research uses digital ethnography as a methodology to examine and highlight social media use, by political parties and candidates in Fiji’s 2018 national elections. The research found that FijiFirst, as the ruling government, had significant advantage in Fiji’s social media landscape. However, opposition social media efforts and growing Facebook ‘reactions’ were beginning to challenge FijiFirst’s social media dominance.

Keywords

• censorship
• elections
• Facebook
• Fiji
• politics
• social media