Google, a social media behemoth, has unveiled a brand-new website called Nigeria Elections Trends Hub in preparation for the 2023 general elections, which are set for February and March.
According to a statement from the company, the platform will give Nigerians a way to search for and learn about trending topics regarding the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, parties, and issues.
The page, which can be accessed on the Google Trends website at https://goo.gle/NigeriaElectionTrends, reportedly enables users to compare the presidential candidates’ search popularity and the top queries being asked about them. The portal includes maps and graphs that show the candidates’ search interests over a 30-day period.
Google claimed in the statement that it came up with this concept in support of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
It’s a part of a larger Google initiative to support the elections in 2023, which also includes training for new and media publishers on how to use YouTube to effectively tell election stories and training for journalists from the Google News Lab on how to use search and other Google tools for better storytelling, including data visualization, verification, and fact-checking.
Google’s mission to organize and make the world’s information universally accessible and useful is more relevant than ever as Nigeria celebrates 24 years of democracy in the upcoming elections.
We want Nigerians to be empowered with information during the upcoming elections, so we’re organizing information to make it easy for voters to learn more about the candidates through the eyes of Google Trends,” said Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Affairs Manager for West Africa.
More accessible and useful political information improves the political process and leads to greater citizen participation, Kola-Ogunlade added.
The Nigeria Elections Trends Hub will help voters make more informed decisions at the polls and have a greater voice in the political process.
We’re empowering voters so that they are not simply watching from afar, but participating, engaging with and shaping the political process in a democratic way, Kola-Ogunlade further said.
The Nigeria Elections Trends Hub is one of many projects we are working on to support the 2023 elections, including training for new and media publishers and assistance for journalists to help them tell more interesting stories. Google stated that it was committed to making search useful for Nigerians.
