Public concern about Facebook’s power in society – and in politics – has skyrocketed in the wake of revelations that users’ data was analyzed by a U.K.-based marketing firm and used to construct highly targeted political propaganda in advance of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Other technology giants have also sparked concern: Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft have all faced objections from users, the public and even government agencies.
Because all of these companies provide services relating to computers, there is a tendency to lump them together, calling them “Big Tech” or the “Frightful Five” or even “GAFA” – the acronym for the first four of them, leaving Microsoft out. Conceiving “big tech” as a single industry makes the threat and influence overwhelming. Interesting words laid out by the conversation.
Power of Social Media exceeds nationalism and constitution:
The Power of social media and tech companies like Twitter, Facebook or Google was evident during the US Election 2020. The American tech giants played a huge role in changing the narrative in favour of the victor Joe Biden and his Democrats party. Twitter even banned and muscled the US President Donald Trump while he was in his office.
A big deal indeed. Who could have thought anyone could silence and arm-twist a sitting US President? The most powerful man in the world. But they did it for political reason.
Countries are in fear of Social Media’s popularity and control over people:
The world’s democracies and socialists nations reaction to twitter’s indulgences in a democratic election has never been under the scanner so much. Twitter will decide what is right and what is wrong, who is right and who is wrong. The power has always been with the country’s judiciary and the lawmakers. Now it’s up to some doodles noodles working in Twitter offices spread across the world.
How Social Media Propaganda can hurt national harmony and national security:
India earlier unearthed a plot to destabilise the country and a plot to overthrow the democratically elected government in India. It all started with the banned terror groups like Khalistan operating in Pakistan and western countries launched a radical campaign against India. With the help of Social Media like Twitter and Facebook. This propaganda campaign has a direct impact on India’s national security. On many occasions led to the killing of innocent people and Indian Armed Forces personnel.
A terror operation in the most sensitive regions like in India’s Jammu and Kashmir can be intervened with fake news propaganda by Pakistan. Pakistan their country which begs for food operates a well furnished and well funded separate information wing called ISPR. The sole purpose of this wing of Pakistan Army and notorious Pak intelligence agency is to radicalise Indian youths to take up arms with radical propaganda.
All can be done while sitting in front of a computer. The power of controlling the online narrative is as equal as having the weapon of mass destruction. This is one part of the story, about how enemy nations using social media.
Social Media tech giants decides the narrative:
On the other hand, we have these Social Media tech giants who control billions of people across the world with the narrative they believe in. In the world of globalisation, internet and social media if twitter decided to hail the Hitler it can. It doesn’t matter what we free-thinking people can believe in. Our thoughts and our freedom of expression can be banned and silenced by these social media platforms. All they have to do is to reduce your account’s reach or even suspend and block you entirely for having a different view than what Twitter or Facebook believe to be true.
Challenges posed to India’s democratic values:
India as a democracy with freedom of expression must not allow Twitter or Facebook or Google to decide what our young people must watch and learn on the internet. If we can’t control the internet, there is no use in calling ourself an independent nation. Greta’s tool kit is just a small tip of an iceberg which will one day sink our Titanic into the deep sea of human history.
There are no ultimate truth, ultimate right or ultimate wrong in this world. Capitalism and Socialism have it’s won good and bad. India should sail the boat in the middle. Nothing wrong with learning some lessons out of China, Russia or the United States or else from where.
End the US Tech Giants monopoly in India, before it ends Indian Cultural and Democratic values
India should plan for our social media platforms and create our tech giants like google. Or at least push the search engines like DuckDuckGo instead. The Internet privacy company that empowers you to seamlessly take control of your personal information online, without any tradeoffs. At least streamline the policy of tech giants as per Indian culture. How can an alledged methhead sitting in California ever understand Sanatana dharma and our culture? And this could be the person who decides what is right and what is wrong for our people in online space. This has to end before tech giants end India’s democracy, ideology, culture with western costumes.
