Comment | India’s fake news problem won’t go, no matter what

Sounak Mitra

Can social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, among others, clean up their acts to help the Election Commission of India (ECI)  conduct a free and fair election?

Considering the fact that the first phase of polls is a few days away, the simple answer to the above question would be: No.

The reason: Fake news is too big a mess, and there’s too little time.

True, social media companies and the ECI have been trying to curb fake news that spreads too fast. Facebook reportedly removed 687 pages and accounts linked to the Congress, and also a bunch of ruling pro-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pages that had a combined reach of around 200 million.

This, in any case, won’t help stop the spreading of fake news, or misinformation for political propaganda. It takes just a couple of minutes to create a new account on any social media platform, a few hours to get a new mobile connection, and thanks to companies that help build follower bases or buy likes, it’s just a matter of how much money political parties are willing to spend.

As Reuters reported, fake news still thrives on social media.

Now, why can’t social media entities control the spread of fake news? The answer to above question is simple: no social media platform can kill generation of fake news.

What are the lawmakers doing?

On March 6, a parliamentary panel asked Facebook, along with WhatsApp and Instagram, to “do more” to curb fake news, followed by microblogging site Twitter. On March 10, ECI said that social media entities will have to follow the model code of conduct and its rules on political advertisements. Social media entities agreed to co-operate and form special task forces to act faster in order to comply fully. However, they have their limitations. They are primarily dependent on technology that determines users’ behaviour and if posts are in compliance or not.

Now, that does not solve the whole issue. In any case, social media has emerged as the best tool to reach the young generation because of the very way it functions. Considering that there will be around 84 million Indians who will vote for the first time in this election, it is very natural that political parties use social media as an important instrument before they cast their votes.

Young voters have access to cheap mobile Internet, and seek information on social media. In the 2014 general elections, too, social media played a big role despite the limited reach of social media platforms and when data was more expensive. Yet, social media was a crucial instrument to effectively reach those 150 million Indians who voted for the first time in 2014.

In the past five years, all social media companies have multiplied their reach. Thus, the wide use of social media is natural for political parties. Social media, however, comes with its vices including the scope of spreading fake news, or misinformation that could potentially mislead voters, lead to situations like riots and lynching, among others.

Political parties have been using this quite efficiently. Time reported in January on how the ruling BJP has been using its volunteers to spread fake news using WhatsApp. Besides, there are promoted trends, promoted posts and promoted accounts  use of Bollywood celebrities for promotions for a fee, or consulting firms such as Cambridge Analytica, which allegedly masterminded political machines, backed by social media and other tools, in the previous general elections.

The very reason why India’s fake news problem won’t go is because India’s lawmakers have a wrong approach to tackle fake news. The problem of India’s fake news isn’t social media platforms, it is the political parties. This can only be addressed when these parties are under scrutiny and they follow self-compliance, which seems a distant dream.