Deplatforming US President: Are Tech Giants Waking Up?

The last week has been quite eventful, there have been two seemingly unrelated developments involving Facebook that deserve close attention. The bigger event, storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters is being discussed and written upon by nearly everyone who is capable of forming an opinion and is interested in US and World politics. So for now I would prefer to not wade into the politics except where it intersects tech ecosystem.

Posted By Danish 5:43 PM

0

Continue Reading

Tech Giants Need To Take Their Societal Responsibilities More Seriously

(Courtesy : nasafcu.com )

Over the decade social media platforms have grown phenomenally, in early years there were comparisons of user base of Facebook, for example, with the population of the US and then with India's and China's but now that the number has reached 2 billion and growing that particular metric has been discarded. It is no longer about the numbers alone now but the volume of information being disseminated on them which is pretty much eclipsing traditional media and becoming the dominant space for all kind of discourses globally and especially political discourses.With such monopoly over information dissemination and ability to impact societies and polities significantly it is but natural that governments and the political system would turn their attention towards them and some of them seem to be happening lately. 

Posted By Danish 1:57 AM

0

Continue Reading

Aadhaar Challenge: A Perception Battle

Lately my Twitter timeline has been providing me with some sort of amusement at what seems to be a counter-campaign by the UIDAI and its supporters to control the narrative or at least fight the perception battle to the relentless anti-Aadhaar campaign being run on the micro-blogging platform by online activists since last few years. It has perhaps became important for UIDAI to take initiative as the discourse on Twitter has largely been controlled by those opposed to it and a part of the mainstream media, since the media inevitably picks up the dominant narrative on Twitter. Also, with the Supreme Court judgment on Aadhaar coming out any time, it might have seemed imperative for the UIDAI to undo some damage to the reputation of the Authority on social media, which would undoubtedly be important if the Court makes the Aadhaar truly voluntary. Whatever be the motivation, the fact is there is a Twitter war over Aadhaar in progress and its an interesting one. 

Posted By Danish 12:49 AM

0

Continue Reading

Rumours, Psychographics And Social Media

Source: Wikimedia Commons

What do the Cambridge Analytica scandal, alleged Russian interference in 2016 US elections, Brexit, rise of right wing ideologies around the world and mob lynching of more than 20 people in India based on WhatsApp rumours have in common ? Of course it is the peddling of fake news through the social media platforms that have now become ubiquitous across the classes and demographic segments. The bigger question though is how and why these misinformation campaigns originate and spread and how this malicious threat can be checked.

Posted By Danish 2:08 AM

0

Continue Reading

Is Modi's Solar Alliance At COP21 The Real Deal

(Image Courtesy: UNFCCC )

Quite recently I heard an eminent academic speak on the need for PM Narendra Modi to improve his relationship with the press. I think it was the economist Jagdish Bhagwati, a known Modi supporter but I could be wrong. Anyway, a recent event did make me think that perhaps he is right, by not directly engaging with the mainstream media, Modi is not only allowing his image being transformed to that of an opaque personality but also some of his real achievements get ignored and completely sidelined in the nation discourse.  But before that I must confess that though I see Modi the politician as a product of the RSS ideology, Modi the Prime Minister seems be too ambitious to be restrained by ideological shackles especially when it conflicts with his attempts to create his own legacy. This twin personas were especially evident when he was on election campaign in Bihar, his rhetoric being aggressive and almost uncouth and then his statesman like oration in the Parliament at onset of the Winter session which was way mature. However what really surprised me was the lack of adequate reportage by media as well as support from his own  supporters on social media on his successful launch of International Solar Alliance of 120 countries along with French President François Hollande during the Paris COP21 climate summit.

Posted By Danish 8:30 AM

0

Continue Reading