Does social media have any effect on political rights in developing countries? We examine the impact of social media on political rights in 51 African countries. Political rights, which are similar to but separate from the notion of democracy, are associated with representation by the people’s choice. The continuous rise of information communication technologies like social media has enabled citizens to express their opinions. This study examines the relationship between social media and political rights and its effects. Previous research has focused on the economic and social impact of political rights, but this study focuses on the technological effect on political rights. Given the global outreach of social media, it is worth considering its influence on political rights in African countries. A regression analysis was conducted, and two models were tested and the conclusion was that social media, in general, is significant, but each platform holds a different effect. In this research, Twitter has a more significant and substantive effect on political rights than Facebook.

Keywords: Facebook, Political rights, social media, Developing countries, Twitter