Does it get created with the onset of war or is just a continuum which is covered seamlessly as the war scenario emerges? Does Indian electronic media have some role models, from the global level at least one or a few of those channels? Social media is a new animal in the room, but it’s mannerisms, operations and nature of control seems to have come out in the open with complete clarity. Suffice to say that it is not exactly naive and individualistic that it was made out to be. Imagine the situation if both these medias were available at the time of independence struggle and what role they would have played.
See the current situation, ceasefire is already a few days old, but the media is in no mood to push back. Who will declare the media ceasefire of the war game? What is fascinating is that it operates like a monolith, every channel out beating the other in the same game. The recent Indo-Pak conflict once again laid bare the deep rooted fault lines; of abandoning their journalistic duties in favour of hyper-nationalist rhetoric, blaring war cries, and dramatised visuals. Debates turned into echo chambers of aggressive patriotism, leaving little room for nuance and verified facts. Unverified reports on body counts and military successes filled the war sky. The focus on TRPs over truth turned primetime into a theater for jingoism.
Social media has transformed into what we can safely call the anti-social media. The nature of online trolls of the widow of the Pahalam terror attack victim has its own story. The ceasefire declaration created one more troll victim who was none other than Vikram Misri, the foreign secretary of India. Only troll armies are sovereign and hence no action was taken against large numbers openly indulging in these acts. Meant to be contrary, social media has become a battleground for silencing dissent. It is fueled by bot networks, political fanatics, and anonymous accounts that weaponise patriotisme to delegitimize alternative opinions. in face of digital Civil discourse has shrunkbullying
Noam Chomsky long ago talked about manufacturing consent. The manufacturing of consent today through misinformation undermines democratic discourse and leaves the public confused, polarised and vulnerable to manipulation. The aftermath of the ceasefire saw little introspection from the media. They had missed out the plot. Spinning back the same rhetoric, though broken, continues till now. To restore public trust there is an urgent need for system reform. A strong and independent media regulatory framework must be instituted with teeth to penalise the spread of mis / dis information and hold platforms accountable. AI based fact checking tools and an ombudsperson from media complaints can be beginning. Or is this the new normal, never to change?
IS THE MEDIA STAGE MANAGED OR HAS IT FOUND ITS OWN ROGUE TRAJECTORY?
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.