Making Sense of Disinformation on Social Media in India - Part II
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The rapid spread of disinformation can distort and hinder social progress and cohesion. In this case study, we uncover six stories that depict the phenomenon of disinformation in India and identify the signals that could help those in power prevent the digital civil war from creating real-world casualties.
Need to catch up? Read Part I here or read on for Part II.
Context:
· This issue is linked to the much-debated Ayodhya-incident centred on a plot of land in Ayodhya city. This location is believed to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Lord Rama but was also the site of a mosque that was torn down by a violent, fundamentalist-Hindu mob in 1989.
· Supreme Court of India approved the construction of a Ram Temple at the long-disputed site in Ayodhya.
Why is this topic trending now?
· The construction of the temple has been mired in controversy. A few opposition parties have alleged corruption and insider-dealing in the acquisition of the land by the Ram Temple Trust who set up for the oversight of the construction.
· However, the Trust has dismissed the allegations, calling them politically motivated.
· This kerfuffle attracted considerable attention on social media with many Hindu believers and BJP supporters targeting the Opposition parties. Likewise, it also resulted in the supporters of the Opposition parties targeting BJP, the incumbent government.
· What’s more – speculation and false images of temple designs have continued to ripple through social media platforms and spark further disinformation on the temple construction.
There are four sub-narratives that Acoustics has picked up within this broader theme. Each narrative has been classified based on the four descriptors mentioned earlier: Circumstantial, Ideological, Incumbent (BJP) related, Opposition (Congress) related.
As can be seen in the below exhibit 7, ideology in the form of Hindutva and targeting Opposition party members is a major feature.
Figure 7 - Narratives identified for the theme of Ram Mandir Scam
Key takeaways:
The case of the Ram Mandir scam indicates that disinformation has the powerful ability to exacerbate religious and political conflict with a severe hindrance on finding resolutions.
The transaction of the temple has been mired in controversy since its inception and the narrative is dominated by ideology. However, the spread of fake tweets from politicians, fabrication of quotes published on unreliable blogs and the circulation of outdated 3D renderings of the temple have added additional strain to the construction and stalled progress.
Context:
· Sushant Singh Rajput was a young Indian actor who committed suicide in June 2020. The media portrayed this incident as a straight-forward case due to the actor’s prior diagnosis of clinical depression and bipolar disorder.
· However, this situation was complicated when his family filed a case against his then girlfriend, Rhea Chakroborty for abetment to his suicide.
· This development attracted considerable public attention which led to political tension between the BJP and Shiv Sena parties. Many campaigns on social media were driven by his followers who demanded a thorough investigation with calls to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Why is this topic trending now?
· The 14th June 2021 marks the one-year anniversary since the actor’s passing and still the reasons behind Sushant Singh Rajput’s death are unclear. The three major law and enforcement agencies in the country failed to find any concrete evidence to clearly state the reason behind the death.
· Fans reminiscing the actor around the anniversary of his death have contributed to the conversation volume within this theme with particular focus on the tag of #justiceforsushantsinghrajput.
There are four sub-narratives that Acoustics has picked up within this broader theme. Each narrative has been classified based on the four descriptors mentioned earlier: Circumstantial, Ideological, Incumbent (BJP) related, Opposition (Congress) related.
Exhibit 8 highlights that most of the narratives revolve around the actual circumstance rather than any other overtones of politics or ideology.
Figure 8 - Narratives identified for the theme of Sushant Singh Rajput
Key takeaways:
The social media frenzy over the death of Sushant Singh Rajput illustrates how disinformation on social media can drive us to wrongly target people without knowing the true cause of a particular event. The vilification and abuse of Rhea Chakraborty, Shushant’s girlfriend and her close acquaintance on social media about her alleged involvement in money laundering and drugs acts as a case in point. This was despite the fact that none of the investigating agencies had incriminating proof. It serves as a reminder to refrain from being an active node in the cobweb of disinformation transmission on social media.
In addition to raising important social themes relating to suicide and drugs, the lack of finality to the investigation could be interpreted to have caused a range of negative emotions, including sadness and fear felt by his devoted followers who wanted justice for the star.
Information spread on WhatsApp chats relating to Rajput’s use of drugs spurred further controversy theories that could contributed to the difficulty for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in arriving at conclusions to the investigation.
Context
· In February 2020, New Delhi was rocked by violent communal riots erupting as a protest against India’s new Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAA).
· As per official estimates, 53 people lost their lives with the majority of this group belonging to the Muslim community.
· Following this incident, many arrests were made of student activists from universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia for allegedly engaging in “premeditated conspiracy” and were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Why is this topic trending now?
· Recently Delhi High Court granted bail for three student activists. The trio were implicated for inciting communal violence and have been in jail since May 2020.
· On the one hand, their release caused a huge stir on social media, with people reminiscing the horrors of the Delhi Riots and targeted the ruling government (BJP) for encroaching on the right to democratic dissent.
· On the other hand, many online conversations also targeted these activists by labelling them as the infamous Azaadigang, referencing the unrelated groups who had chanted anti-India slogans in support of terrorist Afzal Guru in a separate incident.
There are three major sub-narratives that Acoustics has picked up within this broader theme. Each narrative has been classified based on the four descriptors mentioned earlier: Circumstantial, Ideological, Incumbent (BJP) related, Opposition (Congress) related. Exhibit 9 illustrates that most narratives revolve around the actual circumstance with strong undertones of politics and ideology.
Figure 9 - Narratives identified for the theme of Delhi Riots
Key takeaways:
The important case of CAA and the Delhi riots underscores the dangerous nature of disinformation for the evolution of democracy, human rights and social cohesion.
The use of social media in this case has been highly provocative in inciting religious hatred. For example, the viral video which spread fake information that Muslim protestors were being paid to agitate groups when in fact they were receiving rations, fuelled harmful falsehoods.
This example brings into question how disinformation can impact protestor’s rights to free speech. Again, by likening protestors to terrorist supporters, they are vilifying activists who have a right to express and communicate their opposition. It is a stark reminder of the way disinformation is hurting social stability.
Context
· The on-going protest by farmers against the three farm bills is one of the lengthiest protests throughout the history of independent India. The three new laws, initiated by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to dismantle the Agricultural Product Market committee which guaranteed that farmers would receive the government agreed minimum price for goods.
· Throughout late 2020 and early 2021, Indian farmers have fought against the new laws that would severely undermine their bargaining power with large agricultural companies, drive down prices and signal the end of Minimum Support Price (MSP).
· The demands started with a legal guarantee on the MSP from the government and over time the demands have significantly expanded and a resolution to this crisis seems difficult and distant.
· Beyond the farmers, other stakeholders who are now involved in these protests include State governments and commission agents.
Why is this topic trending now?
· The protests are ongoing and trigger continuous international social media engagement and activism. This multi-dimensional issue has also attracted opposition parties and local leaders who are campaigning against the incumbent government.
There are three major sub-narratives that Acoustics has picked up within this broader theme. As can be seen in the below, each narrative has been classified based on the four descriptors mentioned earlier: Circumstantial, Ideological, Incumbent (BJP) related, Opposition (Congress) related.
Exhibit 10 indicates that most narratives in this topic have strong overtones of politics and ideology.
Figure 10 - Narratives identified for the theme of farmer protests
Key takeaways:
The volume of misinformation shared by politicians across both party lines that supported and attacked the farmers actions during the protests underpins the fault lines of this divisive issues.
In this instance, misleading content relating to fake tweets supposedly authored by the US Vice President Kamala Harris, in addition to the use of outdated imagery were taken out of context and contributed to the upheaval.
Disinformation distracts from the ruling party’s ability to understand the true sentiment of farmers who are afraid of change and are opposed to losing economic pricing mechanisms that have protected their livelihoods and alleviated them from poverty. It also diverts attention and efforts that could be better spent elsewhere creating sound economic agricultural policies that meet the demands of the farmers and also embrace regenerative systems that can better prepare India’s farming infrastructure as the climate crisis evolves.
Final remarks
Throughout this analysis, we have picked out the signal in the noise across online activity relating to disinformation in India. We believe this is critical in order to help actors and agents on all sides discern a path to dealing with the problems of misinformation.
The six case studies each portray how information can be manipulated to hamper societal progress, erode trust and incite unnecessary hatred that can have long-term implications.
Each story speaks to existing social cleavages in India applied to political, religious and social contexts. It clearly indicates that the digital civil war and distortion of truth online is creating real-world casualties; whether that be through oppressive violence to quell democratic protests, religious hate crimes or the impact on mental health including acceleration in anxiety and trauma-related disorders.
The signals identified in the Ripple Research data are salient for businesses, policymakers and civil society if they are to better understand how disinformation complicates resolution to critical issues. These findings can then be applied to make suggestions for ways of mitigating and overcoming the current levels of distortion.
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