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.