'Good, bad and ugly'; social media will dominate upcoming LS poll campaigning

“Have you travelled like your grandfather did?”; this question was thrown at students by one famous politician who was invited to an IIT event. Many students answered back saying they have travelled far more than what their grandparents and parents did combined.

Then the leader said something:

'You may have gone too far. But your grandfather might have gained ten times the knowledge and experiences that you have gained from all your journeys.

You, on the other hand, are infatuated with brief glimpses. You lose sight of the art of observation by burying your face in the short descriptions available through digital media. Watching reels and shorts, thereby immersed in superficial views without studying the generalities in-depth!'

This is a very correct assessment in today's age where the influence of social media is increasing day by day, especially at a time when the country is on the verge of facing the 18th Lok Sabha elections. Youngsters might have basic know-how in politics but they tend to believe whatever is being served through social media. With such a lethal weapon in hand, most parties will make the best use of prominent social media platforms in the coming days with propaganda running rampant.

Not being able to discern right from wrong spread through school media will end up taking away the sanctity of the election process. People now rely on social media to watch and learn news rather than dedicate any time to mainstream television channels. The news being spewed through SM comes without any checks or corrections and thus will work best to spread propaganda or to taint any candidates in the election run. False news can be passed off as true, while candidates and fronts can be whitewashed and sometimes tarnished.

Different social media platforms have all the tools to mislead people so subtly and effectively that they cannot distinguish between truth and fiction. Social media is full of settings to spread anything good or bad like chat GPT, AI tools, deep fake videos etc. Every voter should be made aware of the devious skewing of news that is running rampant through social media. The Election Commission should consider issuing guidelines for social media activities by individuals and groups which will help abate the tensions to some extent.