Social Media Users Lack Sophistication

NEW DELHI: Pictures, SMSs, videos and threats of violence — and the special trains to Guwahati were full. This week saw an exodus of people from northeast living in Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other cities following threats of violence for alleged atrocities against Bangladeshi migrants in the eastern Indian state. Pictures and videos, allegedly those of violence from Assam, were circulated. The police later said they were "doctored".

Nitin Pai, founder of independent think tank Takshshila Institution says one needs a fresh perspective to understand the new phenomenon of what he calls "radically networked societies". "Once a critical mass of people are connected, they can be mobilized faster and more easily than one can counter-mobilize them. And this is not unique to India. We are just seeing the first expression of it here," says Pai.

Pai says that the credibility of the source is often linked to the credibility of the message. "Ordinary people might not be trained for sifting through content and looking for attribution. There is a lack of sophistication in a large number of users of social media, who will not necessarily check before they share. That spreads panic," he says.

Writer and social commentator Santosh Desai feels it is easy to buy into any piece of information that can partly confirm what we believe. "When we have a deep-rooted anxiety and are presented with something plausible, it fans the flames. The more outrageous a piece of gossip, the more credible it becomes," says Desai.

Rumours often vitiate the atmosphere during times of strife. Half-truths have been used to mobilize social groups even in the 19th century — the story of cartridges greased with pig/cow fat played a key role in the 1857 Sepoy revolt. But now in the age of mobile phones, rumours can spread faster and to a much larger area, carrying a veneer of authenticity in the garb of 'evidence'.

Faraz Ahmed of Pakistan's Express Tribune lists a whole series of misattributed photographs circulated online in a blog post dated as far back as July 19. It includes inter alia, a picture of a Tibetan protestor running through the streets of Delhi, his body on fire. The original picture appeared in various news agencies. The blog, then, carries a screenshot of a Facebook page with the same picture that labels it as that of a Muslim being burnt in Burma. The picture has over 160 likes and 175 shares at the time the screenshot was taken — certainly by those who had not kept up with the news in the past.

Sunil Abraham, executive director, Centre for Internet and Society says that responsible sharing and consumption can be made possible through "media literacy." He points out it was possible for the police to regulate this content. "When web content is used to undermine public order it can be legitimately censored using due process of law. The police could have used provisions under the IT Act to have the content blocked or removed. No new regulations are necessary to deal with spreading rumours using Internet technology," says Abraham.