Social Media: Heralding a New World Order
https://www.epw.in/engage/article/social-media-heralding-new-world-order
With technological advancements, social networking sites eventually became news sharing platforms, which to a large extent is being produced by individuals themselves. This also creates multiple narratives making their role pretty much evident in the flow of information. It, therefore, enables different social actors to influence and build opinions on important issues. This dissemination of information at such a large scale becomes a problem if it is fake or doctored. With so much anonymity, easy access and no watchdogs, this information becomes riskier and all the more problematic because it tends to set narratives that might be one-sided.
Examples: #metoo movement; Govt clamp down/information black out as in Kashmir August 2019; Cambridge analytica; Trump ban in Twitter, 2014 election in India; Masculinity narratives, and violence, cyber violence; Dangerous Speech
Rethinking the Democratic Dilemma Navaneeth M S EPW Vol. 56, Issue No. 22, 29 May, 2021 https://www.epw.in/journal/2021/22/postscript/%E2%80%8Brethinking-democratic-dilemma.html?destination=node/158479
Viewing tech giants like Facebook and Twitter as principal agents of free speech has far-reaching consequences on the health and functioning of a democracy.