New Media and Mass Communication www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3267 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3275 (Online) Vol.69, 2018 36 Facebook and Governance: Audience Perception, Believability and Use of Its Political Messages in Anambra State Cornelius Aghadiegwu Ukwueze, Ph.D Senior Lecturer, Department of mass communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state Nigeria Julius Chibuike Nwosu Department of mass communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state Nigeria Abstract There is no doubt that the new media heralded a dawn of technological advancement which certainly altered the way things were done in the media realm, this change did not only affect the way news and other media products are packaged, but the relationship between media and politics, political campaigns, issues of governance and so on. Interestingly, Facebook, one of the popular platforms of social media has been identified as a tool for political participation. Using a survey of 400 persons drawn from Anambra State as a focal point, the researchers examined the audience perception, believability and the extent of use of political messages on the Facebook. The study came up with the following findings: that the audience in Anambra state relied on the Facebook as a source of political messages, that they did not perceive these political messages from the Facebook as credible, and/or reflection of what they say, but more as propaganda statements. That Facebook users in Anambra State do not believe these political messages and finally that they employed the Facebook particularly as a tool for accessing political information and at other time for political education. The study is significant in that it will serve as a mirror to the political class on the effect of their various political messages on facebook. The study recommended among others that the political class while using facebook for political communication should repackage the contents to look credible and believable like those on the mainstream media. Introduction The rapidly advancing world of information technology has no doubt affected all spheres of life. Interestingly; one of the areas that have experienced this development is politics and governance (Dunu, 2013). Through its competency, some countries have successfully replaced authoritarian dispensations to democratic government. Apart from that, there is also easy access to information from around the world, which promotes liberty, governance, competition and choice. The emergence of these technological tools, according to Uzor (2011, p.35): Has enabled a situation where individuals report their views on government, have ease of access and wide coverage; this technology in turn has enabled widespread political participation, check on governance, demand for probity, accountability and transparency from the government. The government on their part has made use of these tools to inform the public of their plans, policies and programmes. Similarly, Kurian, (2015, p.55) lends his voice to the above submission this way: The social media, especially, the Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc, empower and unite people, while helping political leaders raise social and political issues, which help shape public opinion. In performing these functions, the social media actually seem to have succeeded in giving voice to the people, while providing a new platform that ensures increased participation between the people and the government. Interestingly, with the connection to millions of people, the social media, (especially the Facebook) has favourably turned out to be a tool for governance; through it, information has become more readily available to the people more than ever before, removing to a large-extent, barriers to collective action and therefore, promoting pluralism (Loader and Mercea 2012, p.33). Commenting on the far-reaching power of the social media in governance, Winsvold (2013, p.13) notes, “there is now the possibility of interactive communication that is expected to promote a discussion-based, deliberative, participatory democracy and good governance” It is against the above background that this study intends to examine the position of the social media (with specific focus on Facebook), vis-à-vis its co-penetration with governance, evaluating as it were, the perception, believability and use of the platform by the citizens of Anambra State. Statement of Problem In the modern day, the issue of governance has assumed the front burner as an indispensable requirement for social, economic and political developments (Nanda, 2006; Hout, 2007).The deployment of social media for political communication has also become a modern media menu across the globe. The emergence of social