Abstract: The media plays a vital role in a democracy. It informs the public and acts as a watchdog against any abuse of power. During election campaigns, the media provides information on electoral performance, political manifestoes and candidates. However, the prolific spread of social media poses a serious challenge to mainstream media in the way it impacts how politics is both propagated and conducted. Rather than news offered through traditional print and broadcast platforms, social media gives politicians a method to connect directly with the national public at a reduced cost and often greater reach. India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have perfected the use of the digital space to an art form. Cheap mobile internet data, and an army of social media followers have helped the ruling party fuel polarizing political debates and serve the party’s majoritarian, Hindu nationalist political agenda. This paper aims to examine the use of social media by India’s ruling party to promote its message, and analyse how algorithms reinforce public bias and obfuscate informed debate on development and governance by pitting communities against each other along ethnic, religious and ideological lines.
Link: https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_HER_177_0059–populism-propaganda-and-politics.htm
maya mirchandani 