“THAT’S FAKE NEWS” E
lections, in our country of over a billion people, are nothing short of festivals. With awe-inspiring energy, extensive planning, and general public interest that transcends cultural differences and regional barriers, elections are the true celebration of democracy. Another fundamental characteristic that remains true with the nature of elections is that they evolve with time. The Public Relations (or PR) cells of political parties play a key role in this process by undertaking an extensive study of the ways in which people interact, feel and perceive things. Quite naturally, political parties have understood the important role that social media can play in today's politics. These organisations, around the world, are bringing social media to substantial use for propagating their ideologies. The idea of a better connection between the political parties and the voters seem to be beneficial for a healthy 22
democracy but the downsides that it offers are grave and cannot be overlooked. The basic difference between social media as a medium of information as compared to other conventional sources of information, such as print media or television, lies in its dramatically different structure. Unlike conventional sources, in the case of social media, there are no third parties involved which are responsible for investigating facts, filtering content and providing editorial judgement. With fake news articles getting as much, if not more, reach than genuine news from credible sources, they can be extensively used by political parties to sell their propaganda through the propagation of misinformation. Adding to the problem is the fact that on a social media platform, people are highly susceptible to becoming a part of ‘echo chambers’ that filters information according to their present beliefs. Through the intricate web of Liking, Sharing, and Commenting, Geek Gazette