NJOMACS

This study examined the influence of social media misinformation on mob justice among undergraduates in Kwara State, Nigeria. Despite growing scholarship on digital misinformation and extrajudicial violence, empirical evidence on how exposure shapes moral cognition among younger, digitally native populations in northern Nigerian contexts remained sparse. Anchored in Social Cognitive Theory, the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 398 undergraduates across three universities using a structured questionnaire measuring exposure to misinformation and perceptions of moral justification. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were employed for analysis. Findings revealed substantial exposure to multimodal misinformation portraying suspects as deserving immediate punishment. Respondents concurrently endorsed mob justice as morally wrong whilst acknowledging that misinformation influenced their moral judgement. Exposure to social media misinformation significantly predicted perceptions of moral justification, though the effect size was modest, indicating that institutional trust and personal ethics also shape moral cognition. The study concluded that whilst digital exposure incrementally shifts evaluative frameworks through observational learning, it does not fully determine moral outcomes. These findings extend Social Cognitive Theory by demonstrating its probabilistic operation in a digitally saturated, institutionally fragile context. Targeted media literacy programmes and regulatory friction mechanisms are recommended to mitigate misinformation-driven moral disengagement among emerging civic leaders.