Opinion: Even-steven on social media

Contrary to belief, social media still has a limited role in Indian elections, but its impact will only increase By Author Telangana Today Arnab Sen Sarma   |   Published: 3rd Aug 2021   12:05 am 2014 was a landmark year in Indian politics. It redefined the way political parties approach elections. The grandeur of the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s extravagant electoral campaign in the run-up to the 16th general elections was fairly unprecedented. One of the many compelling aspects of that trailblazing campaign was the BJP’s emphatic use of social media (WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc) as an effective tool for political messaging. Since then, social media has come to dominate Indian politics and the myriad narratives around it. Over the past seven years, social media has become increasingly popular among political parties. Today, every major political outfit has its own “cyber army” and is spending lakhs towards expanding its online base. Social media now forms an inevitable part of electoral strategy. According to Google Ad Transparency Report and the Facebook Ad Library data, in about two years, between February 2019 and May 2021, a handful of national and State level parties cumulatively spent upwards of Rs 150 crore towards their…
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