Once said by David Alston, Social media it is key to listen, engage & build relationship. Social media is now integral partt of our daily lives. Social media has power to convert fake news into real & real into fake for every incidents happening in the country. We all are know that sometimes it can expose the real picture in front of society or suppress one’s truth.
E.g. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, posted a few days ago that the pipe connection to deliver pure drinking water to 1crore families in Uttar Pradesh has been completed.
The message attached with above example is how a politician can easily spread his daily activities within a few minutes by social media account among the public.
Social media provide people with platforms where they can access key political information such as upcoming evets, party schedules, party’s election agendas. Many politicians have also taken to social media like fish to water. The best example are Arvind kejriwal & our prime minister Narendra Modi.
Their updates on Facebook, Twitter keeps us informed about latest happenings & future plans. Along with positive role of social media, sometimes news published on social media can be interpreted in the wrong way & thus interpretation of news wil misguide the voters. There are also a large number of trolls & news by various parties to defame individual or political patties.
The Election commission of india mentioned that any violations on social media would be processed under the provision of the representation of people act 1951 & section 126 of the act would be applicable. Thus, political party utilizing the internet &social media to connect with youth for their agenda & political events bec. they now know how & where to find them.
In spite of having many legal provisions, more offences are being repeated by political parties, candidates & party workers on social media. Hence awareness to be created & stringent laws need to be drafted for the safety of citizens. Social media is good weapon which becomes hazardous when handled by a bad masters.