A Multimodal Analysis of Social Media Texts and Placards during the Endsars Protest in Nigeria

Abstract

The study considered a multimodal analysis of social media texts and placards during the protest in 2020. The problem that triggered this investigation was knowledge gap found in audience inability to decode the multimodal features of the blood-stained Nigerian flag visuals used during the Endsars protest in 2020 and their impact on Endsars social mobilization. The study specially, investigated the kinds of visual elements used in social media texts and placards during the protest. It also explored the meanings and connotations of the multimodal features of social media texts and placards used the #Endsars protest. The theoretical framework anchored on Peirce’s Model of Semiotics and Kress and van Leeuwen’s Social Semiotics theory.  Following a qualitative research paradigm, the study employs purposive sampling technique in selecting some relevant placards from online sources. Findings revealed that visual elements and aggressive language on placards were deliberately employed during the #Endsars protest in Nigeria, effectively conveying powerful and emotionally charged message.  The Study also discovered that the use of verbal aggressiveness in social media texts and placards during the #Endsars protest was remarkably efficient in conveying clear messages, engaging the audience, and pressuring decision makers.