Analysis: Facebook and Indian Election

What is the relation between an US-based social media platform like Facebook and the election system in India? It is a big question. It needs serious rational introspection.

Everyone knows that the US president owes the platform for his surprising victory in the presidential election. It is said to have influenced several elections happened across the world.

Don’t you feel that it has a huge role in the present election in India too? There is no doubt that it has an important role in the election.

This platform is the one which is used by most political parties the most to send their message to the electorate.

In the task, it is not its plus that helps the political parties the most, but it is its minus. The unavailability of a proper fact-checking mechanism in this platform allows the political parties to use fake news against their rivals.

Unfortunately, most political parties consider the minus of the platform more helpful than its plus. They know very well that it was its minus that was misused by the republicans to dominate in the US presidential election against the democrats who were more powerful than all its rivals at the beginning stage of the presidential campaign session with Hilary Clinton as its candidate.

It seems that Facebook is keen not to allow the repetition of a US in India. It is said to have deployed a team to monitor the misuse of fake news in the Indian election.

Facebook earns a huge chunk of money in the name of political advertisements during the election. For them, the Indian election is a profitable business.

Facebook must not forget that it can only play a role in the Indian election as long as the country remains democratic. It is good to be reminded that no tyrant need the support of a social media platform.

Vignesh. S. G
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