Ouagadougou: Candidate Afoussiata Bakouan defended her Master's thesis in Information and Communication Sciences at IPERMIC, focusing on the role and influence of web activists during the political transition process of the MPSR I in Burkina Faso through Facebook.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the research, which garnered an average score of 15/20 and a "Good" grade, aimed to enhance understanding of digital political communication forms and their effects on citizens' perceptions. Bakouan's analysis covers web activists' participation on Facebook during the political transition from January to September 2022.

"During this period, Facebook became a privileged space for disseminating information, public debate, and citizen mobilization. Web activists occupied an important place there by influencing exchanges around political and security issues," Bakouan stated. Her study found that web activists had a positive influence of 29%, structuring the digital public debate and affecting citizens' views on governance, security, and political transition.

However, Bakouan also noted a 27% negative influence, resulting from false information circulation, opinion polarization, and discourse that could undermine social cohesion. She recommended that the government strengthen media and information literacy to help citizens develop critical thinking skills against social network content and combat disinformation more effectively.

Bakouan also encouraged web activists to adopt responsible practices, emphasizing fact-checking, ethical respect, and the promotion of constructive public debate. The thesis jury included Dr. Bouraima Zongo as president, Marcel Bagar as co-director, and Dr. Esther Delwend Konsimbo as a critical member.