Role of Social Media in Monitoring and Reporting Government Corruption and Mismanagement in Pakistan

Abstract

This study investigates the role of social media as a tool for monitoring and reporting government corruption and mis-management in Pakistan. Drawing on a survey of 300 respondents across major urban centres, the research examines how citizens use social media platforms to identify, document, and publicize instances of public-sector corruption, and how effective this process is perceived to be in enhancing transparency and accountability in governance. A structured questionnaire was administered, capturing respondents’ demographic information (age, gender, education, income), frequency and mode of social media usage (platforms, purposes, frequency), experiences with encountering or reporting government corruption via social media, perceptions of the role of social media in promoting accountability, and perceived barriers. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression modelling to assess relationships between social media use and perceived governmental accountability. Key findings show that a majority of respondents reported following news or posts about government misconduct via social media, and personally shared or reported an instance of suspected corruption on a social media platform.  However, respondents also identified significant obstacles such as fear of retaliation. The study finds that while social media constitutes a promising tool for enhancing citizen monitoring of government behaviour in Pakistan, its effectiveness is moderated by structural, institutional and digital-inequality constraints. The research contributes to the literature on digital civic engagement and governance in developing countries by providing empirical evidence from Pakistan, and suggests that policy efforts should focus on strengthening digital literacy, legal protections for whistle-blowers, and mechanisms by which social-media-generated evidence can feed into formal accountability processes. The study concludes that social media has considerable potential to support transparency, but realizing this potential requires complementary institutional reforms and efforts to address digital-divide issues.