Prank as social media comedy in Nigeria: Chibuike’s African Snake Man Prank and Iboji Grave Prank as examples

Abstract

Prank videos have become the new-normal on social media. Pranks like smashing a stranger's phone, eating cow dung, and eating poisonous insects, have gone viral on social media sites like Facebook and Tiktok, and because social media offers content creators quick fame, stardom and wealth, content creators are ready to do anything including risking their lives just for the views, likes, shares, and the money, fame and notoriety that comes with creating contents on social media. While many have raised concerns over viral prank videos that are anti-social on social media, some Nigerian comics which we call ‘social media comedians’ have been able to create comedy from prank videos. This qualitative study examines prank as a form of social media comedy using Ubani Zion Chibuike’s African Snake Man Prank and Iboji Grave Prank, and employs the digital qualitative research method and netnography as its methodology. The findings reveal that both acts had strong online audience engagement, according to comments by viewers on Chibuike's YouTube channel - Zfancy. However, 6,000 likes, 1,246,990 views, and 2,891 comments on the African Snake Man Prank outperformed 12,000 likes, 376,606 views, and 1,221 comments on the Iboji Grave Prank in terms of viewers' engagements. Also, their comments indicated they liked both pranks and identified with the situations they portrayed. Furthermore, Chibuike's prank rely heavily on natural situations than scripted scenarios. This kind of approach cuts down on production costs and time, eliminating the need for elaborate scripting, directing, and editing. The study recommends further investigation on the various forms of comic pieces on social media.