Elections have transformed digitally; social media dons the role of influencer

India is currently in the midst of one of the world’s largest general elections. Despite the sweltering heat, political leaders and party workers are reaching out to the general public seeking votes. However, this reach out initiative has changed drastically over the years. One of the major mediums of communication for quite some time has been the social media. And the 2024 general election is no exception. It is the extent that political ideologies, manifestoes, accomplishments and reach out programmes are being propagated through digital mediums, which are different from news channels, newspapers and websites. Rather, most of the political campaigning has now migrated to Facebook reels, shorts, Insta posts, X posts and many other social platforms. We can safely say that the whole political ecosystem seems to be digitally transformed now. Political leaders find these mediums cost-effective and faster than traditional media. It doesn’t mean that mainstream media has lost its charm, but social media has emerged as the prevalent mode of communication now. Such a trend was noticeable in the recent elections and 2024 is witnessing the repetition of this phenomenon.

However, there are some major changes, some which are new in the ongoing elections. The use of AI (artificial intelligence) has grown manifold. In recent months, the country has seen emergence of deepfake videos of top political leaders and aspirants. Many of these videos are misleading and were an attempt to send across a wrong message to the public. While some of these deepfake videos were reported to the police and actions were taken; many such videos concerning political leaders didn’t see much action. A bigger worry is that deepfake videos and audios have the potential to sway voters’ opinion. Therefore, social media platforms, law enforcement agencies, political parties and citizens have a collective responsibility to fight and eradicate the menace. The use of foul language and lack of decency in political discourse have seen multifold rise owing to the widespread use of social media. This needs self-regulation from social media platforms and such users should be discouraged. While on the one hand, digital channels have posed a threat to the political discourse in India, on the other hand, it has also democratised the system to a large extent.

Now, even less affluent political leaders can spread their messages. Similarly, local issues are getting highlighted in social media posts, which usually don’t find place in mainstream media. In a way, hyper-localisation has happened through the use of social media. Moreover, many violations of model code conduct and other norms are getting reported through these channels, enabling law enforcement agencies to take action. Even the Election Commission of India has launched the cVIGIL Citizen App that enables citizens to report code violations apart from tracking the progress of actions taken in the matter. This has definitely made the election process closer to the common man. As Indian democracy matures, the use of social media will definitely rise. The onus is on each of us to check and counter the ill-effects of social media platforms and unleash its power for empowerment of citizens.