THE rise in the use of smartphones and increased adoption of mobile internet in Africa are fundamentally altering the media ecology for election campaigns. As mobile phones become commonplace, even in Africa’s poorest countries, the uptake of social media has become ubiquitous. Applications like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and blogs form an integral part of today’s political communication landscape in much of the continent. Author MARTIN N NDLELA, Professor of Communication, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences These platforms are becoming a dominant factor in electoral processes, playing a tremendous role in the creation, dissemination and consumption of political content.…