Security Concerns Arising from Misinformation Spread in Rural Communities: The Role of Social Media in Amplifying Farmer-Herder Conflicts Nigeria

Ensuring community safety and rural security has become increasingly challenging in Nigeria as social media-driven misinformation fuels violent farmer–herder conflicts. Anchored on media dependency theory, the study employed a quantitative survey design involving 370 respondents drawn from farmers, herders, and rural community members across five local government areas. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that WhatsApp (82%) and Facebook (73%) were the dominant platforms for misinformation. Emotionally charged content, especially voice notes and short videos, spread more rapidly than textual posts, intensifying community tensions and retaliatory actions. Institutional responses were weak and reactive, while informal community verification networks showed promising mitigation potential. The study concludes that misinformation significantly fuels the dynamics of farmer-herder conflict in Bauchi’s rural communities. The findings offer practical security-oriented insights that can be applied in developing communication policies, early warning systems, and misinformation-control strategies to strengthen peacebuilding, community safety, and rural security in conflict-prone areas.