ABSTRACT
The research examines the role of social media in curbing the spread of ebola virus using
Facebook users who are students of University of Lagos. It is observed that in
this era of Information and Communication Technology, social media especially
facebook, and twitter have revolutionalised and redefined monopoly of news and
information by mass media (radio, television, newspaper and magazine
industries) as it enhanced citizen participation in news gathering and
dissemination. Social media has in the recent time turn the citizen not only as
information consumers but also as information distributors which is now known
as “Citizen Journalism”. Survey research method was adopted while 373 copies of
questionnaires were administered as a research tool in eliciting data from the
selected respondents that were randomly selected from all the faculties that
cut across Unilag. It is agreed that respondents have one way or the other
either seen, post, share, twit, or comment on ebola post. Also, larger
percentage of the respondents felt the impact of social media campaign on ebola
prevention and controls in average extent. Majority of the respondents
submitted that social media campaigns on Ebola disease have created awareness
and has further reduced its spread among students of Unilag . It is recommended
that Government should make sure that owners of website and blogs within the
country abide to the laws of defamation, obscenity, invasion of privacy and
copyright e.t.c This can be done by setting up a body whose sole responsibility
is to monitor the manifest content of internet materials.
