Elections and Social Media

Assembly Elections in Bihar and by-elections in some other states have been announced.
During the Covid-19 pandemic social media is likely to play a very important role in these elections.

In the past, social media had no role to play in elections rather than being just the publisher of political advertisements.
In the course of pandemic, social media has become important for the penetration of information among the larger groups or areas because it creates a 2 way communication and makes the communication more faster.
Social media has the potential to replace campaigns and different ways of propagation for elections may be missing.
Eg: Virtual rally instead of physical rally.
Thus, the political parties with larger areas of penetration get an advantage in social media.

There are various concerns surrounding social media in terms of data protection, unrestricted access to personal data etc.
The model code of conduct has provisions regulating the media behaviour and media code is circulated by the election commission but the enforceability of laws is still a major concern.
The social media can provoke a series of incidents like fake news and can lead to a delay in the elections.

A strong communication mechanism needs to be developed for regulation of social media content.
The amplified minute fact checking infrastructure needs to be developed.
The laws should be made for making social media liable for its content.

Thus, the upcoming elections might be a watershed election because it may provide a new dimension to further elections.

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