It is neither shocking nor surprising to read this PEW Report (https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/
2020/10/15/
differences-in-how-democrats-and-republicans-behave-on-twitter/?
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utm_term=197211&fbclid=IwAR1M2-JR-qTOHPhTRq3x0JW2oSnuf9ngcu0
7bYKBLCRRNnzTc8xg6UwLj14)
that said that 10 % of all twitter in the US are managed by 10% of active adult users who contribute towards 98 % of posts. And you guessed it right , out of these 98% , 69 % are democrats. Therefore one must take all that one reads with a tablespoon of salt if not a pinch .
We think that something similar happens in India for which the Indian policy makers and the nationalist have to be prepared which they are not to the extent required. Take the Hathras narrative . It was blown totally out of mind. It’s not that the leftists and opposition led media campaigners target only social issues. There are all types of narratives which try to malign the government on a variety of issues. Earlier we have seen how a defence oriented journalist writing for Business Standard along with some defence veterans was at his best to bring a bad name to PM Modi’s image with reference to Ladakh and China events. There is another news that has surfaced recently where another social media activist targeted a particular defence firm based in Nagpur. .
Then there is a whole lobby who tries to create division on the minority issues for whom death of some minority becomes a major issue but nothing is said when a Hindu gets murdered for loving a muslim girl . There is a big group of social media activists from the media to the likes of Rana Ayyub et al who keep trying to defame the government. Minorities and rapes of dalit are a favourite narrative here.
More importantly and rather unfortunately the corporate sector who has been neutral so far at least publicly has taken to social media for airing their views which are partisan. It’s not about Tanishq and the Tata group but the scion of the Bajaj group who has nowadays been rather vocal on social media too criticizing the government. He wrote something on CAA, then on migration during early lockdown, govt policies etc etc.
To think and believe that these are innocent posts written by innocent nationalist persons who care for the nation and the country will be a big folly. They are well thought, planned posts written by people who are highly knowledgeable as well as vested interests. Some people from Bollywood are also highly active in this regard.
Thus one sees that there are some favourite themes like minority, rapes, defence, China, Economy, which are then used by the narrators to create divisions in the society and flame emotions.
Government has to take all these seriously. There are books available which are guiding liberals and leftists on how to protest and lead rallies. There is networking across the globe thanks to social media and internet outreach. The world is more connected than ever where its earlier to find groups of your liking and then plan meticulously.
To fight such big lobbies the government really seems to be weak in terms of resources, manpower and funding. The government and the nationalists have to think far and in depth. We are of the opinion that this trend will increase and then peak before some catastrophe happens and awakes everyone. The protests and anti govt anti democratic rhymes are just the beginning of a new era.
The nationalist and right wing forces seem to be blissfully sleeping or are ignoring these trends. However we find it our duty to warn the government and all others to witness a big bombshell going forward which will have its root in the social media led campaigns.
