Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday trained guns on the BJP-led central government, accusing it of misusing social media platforms “to shape political narratives” and disturb social harmony. She also urged the government to end the influence of Facebook and other social media giants on electoral politics.
Making a Zero Hour submission in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi referred to a report published in Al Jazeera and The Reporters’ Collective claiming that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties.
“Global companies like Facebook and Twitter are used increasingly to shape political narratives by leaders, parties and their proxies,” Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha.
“It has repeatedly come to public notice that global social media companies aren’t providing a level playing field to all parties…Blatant manner in which social harmony is being disturbed by Facebook with the connivance of ruling establishment is dangerous for our democracy,” she added.
She further alleged that social media giants, particularly Facebook, were trying to spread hatred through emotionally charged disinformation. “Young and old minds are being filled with hate through emotionally charged disinformation, and proxy advertising companies like Facebook are aware of it and are profiting from it. Report shows a growing nexus between big corporations, ruling establishment and global social media giants like Facebook,” the Congress chief charged.