A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Online Cartoons on the 2023 Nigerian Presidential Elections

الملخص

This study examines online political cartoons as linguistic and visual tools that shape public perceptions of the Nigerian 2023 Presidential Elections. The inherent complexities of cartoons are not always fully grasped by readers; thus, underscoring the need for closer examination. The study adopts a qualitative approach, drawing primary data from six purposively selected cartoons in Nigerian online newspapers, namely The Punch, Daily Trust, Business Day, and Vanguard, between January 2022 and December 2023, to reflect the activities before, during, and after the elections. The rationale for the choice is primarily that they produce digitally accessible content that is current and topical. Due to constraints of space, six cartoons were selected based on text, images, colour, layout, and gesture, which encode the representational, compositional, and interactional resources. The selected data align with the study’s objectives and the analytical framework of Kress and van Leeuwen’s Grammar of Visual Design. The findings show that the visual grammar of the cartoons reflects the socio-political atmosphere of the elections. Also, the interplay of text and image not only reinforces existing narratives but also creates new layers of discourse that circulate widely within Nigeria’s mediated public sphere. The study concludes that cartoons deploy both language and visual materials that contribute to an understanding of the multimodal communication dynamics and the political discourse in the Nigerian political sphere. The study recommends cartoons as instructive tools to foster responsible participation in the electioneering process.