ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the role of the media in electoral violence. Several factors contribute to the prevalence of electoral violence across the world; in Africa and most developing countries of the world, poverty and inequitable distribution of resources have been several linked to the susceptibility of the populace to be ready preys in the hands of desperate politicians. Most of the electoral violence experienced in Africa is caused by poverty and societal inequality. Electoral violence seems to be the norm rather than an occasional occurrence in most countries around the world, particularly in African countries. The theory of agenda-setting is helpful in explaining how the media can foster societal peace through the prominence it accords issues of social importance. The role the media played in the Rwandan genocide and the destructive use of the media as a propaganda weapon during Hitler’s Nazi regime suggests that the media and its effect on society cannot and should not be underestimated.
