EC must keep a hawkish eye on digital platforms to ensure fair elections

As the General Elections draw near, the political heat is on the rise in the country even as mercury levels are also increasing by the day. But elections are no more restricted to the realm of physical activities. The digital world has also emerged as one of main battlefields for political parties to slug it out. This should not sound surprising as India has one of the largest users of social media platforms, which is estimated to be over 820 million active internet users, a figure that is growing with each passing day. Over half of them, around 442 million, come from the rural regions. According to available data, internet penetration grew eight per cent year-on-year in 2023. As of last month, the country has the most Facebook users in the world with over 385.65 million active users, constituting around 22.1 per cent of India's population. Similarly, it has the largest Instagram users in the world. The graph of other social media sites like X, and hundred others, is also witnessing sharp rises. With such huge base of followers of social media sites in India, moulding of perception can be done by concentrating on these digital platforms to grab the attention of the voters.

That’s the reason we have seen the battle lines being drawn between various political parties. The pitch has already risen with an army of digital team members of these parties campaigning for their candidates and affiliated entities. Alas, they are not only highlighting arguments in favour of their respective parties, buy many posts have become abusive in nature. This time around, political parties are also roping in big influencers to campaign for them. Mega influencers- who have followers of more than 10 lakh- are in huge demand as major political players are trying to get them on board for making a positive influence on their followers. Creators of every kind- those who create reels, short videos and videos on YouTube and the likes- are being roped in to create interesting content of their political employers. Against this backdrop, digital platforms have emerged as one of the sure sources of spreading information or misinformation about candidates and political parties. The world has seen many instances wherein election outcomes were allegedly altered through social media campaigns.

The advent of AI and Generative AI has made this space even murkier now. Deepfake videos can now be created by using AI. Similarly, deepfake audios can be created to defame a political leader. Likewise, digital platforms can be weaponised to create a rift between various religions, regions or castes. Hence, social media should be used responsibly by political parties and ensure that they do not create any kind of divide in the society. Moreover, a neutral regulator like the Election Commission should keep a sharp eye on various social media platforms so that the elections remain free and fair. It has been seen that political parties usually throw the model code of conduct out of the window during the elections and say, write and post various things that potentially create animosity among the general public. It is binding on all regulators to punish such persons or parties in order to make the election process a fair one.