Social media during politics – exploring or exploitation ?



With the advancement in technology, Indian political parties also seem to develop and adopt new strategies and techniques to win elections. Social media platforms are all set for a major windfall in upcoming years. In fact, this year advertising spend on social media will jump around 150% compared to previous 2014 elections. 
In 2018, overall digital market was estimated around Rs. 10,819 crore and is expected to reach Rs. 24,920 crore in 2021, according to Mogae Media. In 2019 major general elections, social media and mobile penetration were widely used tool in political advertising.

Usage of various social media platforms among politicians has increased and twitter is the most heated platform as one or other issue or controversy is always trending on twitter. Modi has over 46 million followers on twitter, more than any world leader except Donald Trump.

The concern with over usage of social media is that it can be easily turned from ‘tool’ to ‘weapon’. It can be used to deepen religious divisions, particularly through misinformation around the elections, and trigger any kind of violence.
Whatsapp which has more than 200 million users across India, has found itself as centre of attraction. Viral hoax messages and fake news spread like wildfire across whatsapp and leads to communal riots. Last year, due to fake news there were more than a dozen incidents of mob lynching.

To bring the situation under control Whatsapp is using artificial intelligence to detect and ban accounts that spread ‘problematic content’, while Facebook is labelling political advertisements in partnership with Indian fact-checkers. Twitter has announced similar initiatives to crack down and ensure that platform is not being used for dubious means. Election in many ways serve as litmus test to find out the growth and progress of Internet usage.

Social media is a great means to spread awareness, information and news but if not handled with care, it can turn tables around and become a silent source of destruction. Censoring social media to eliminate fake news and diabolical provocative messages is not only the job of IT officers but also is our responsibility as concerned citizen.

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