Navigating a complex terrain: Social media and political content

The IPL season is here, and for many of us, that means cheering on your favorite teams! It's like a 3-month-long festival that captures the attention of India's 1.44 billion people, whether you're glued to your TV, your phone, or a lively IPL screening at a restaurant, or just passively listening to the commentary or discussions.

But while cricket fever is sweeping the nation, there's another big event on the horizon that has got immense chatter already going around: the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. The year 2014 saw the ‘First social media election’, which initiated the social media revolution in Indian politics. Since then, most political parties have been seen running their election agenda through numerous social media campaigns. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is also leveraging the online space to encourage people to vote with campaigns like ‘Turning 18’ and ‘You are the One’.

People actively engage with these campaigns through likes, comments, and sharing political content. But with this open platform comes concerns about misinformation, hate speech, and content that may incite violence. While India is a democracy where people can freely express their views, this freedom must be balanced with legal and community guidelines.

So, what kind of political content can you share on social media in India?

• Political news and analysis: Share updates from reliable media sources, opinion pieces, and current affairs analysis.

• Campaigning and advocacy: Share campaign messages and promote voter registration and turnout.

• Community engagement: Connect with elected officials, share feedback, raise concerns, and discuss issues affecting your community.

• Satire and political humour: Critique and comment on political events and figures in a light-hearted and creative manner.

• Educational and informational content: Share informative videos and resources to raise awareness and promote civic engagement.

• Event promotion and participation: Share event details, invite others to participate, and live-stream updates from events.

Here are some examples of what crosses the line and may violate the law:

Hate speech: Inciting violence against specific groups or individuals.

Incitement to violence: Calls for attacks on people, communities, or institutions.

Defamation: Spreading false rumours or allegations about individuals.

Misinformation: Sharing fake news about political events, elections, or public figures.

Privacy violations: Sharing unauthorized personal information without consent.

While these are guidelines that individuals must embrace when indulging in political content on social media, they also apply to brands who want to include political content on their social media handles. 

Users and brands should adhere to community guidelines, respect the rights and opinions of others, and refrain from sharing content that violates laws or promotes hate speech, violence, or misinformation. Additionally, users should critically evaluate the sources and accuracy of the content they share to ensure the integrity of political discourse on social media platforms in India.

A great example is Amul. For decades, Amul’s cartoons have celebrated and satirized different on-goings in the country including political and social developments. With some great puns and tongue-in-cheek humour, the brand has always done more than just advertising its products. From surgical strikes to Nirbhaya to Aam Aadmi party to covering BJP’s historic victory, they have cleverly, without offending any sentiments, have covered it all. Some of the quirky posts created by them over time are shared here.

                                                                                 Source: Google

As a user navigating the realm of political content on social media, it is crucial to adhere to certain guardrails to ensure responsible and ethical engagement. As of January 2024, there were 751.5 million internet users in India. The number of people using the internet makes it almost impossible to enable every individual to abide by the guidelines, that’s where the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 in India introduced several provisions regarding the moderation of political content on social media platforms. Here are the key highlights: 

• Appointment of grievance redressal officers (GROs): Social media platforms with over 5 million users are required to appoint Grievance Redressal Officers based in India to address complaints from users.

• 24-hour content removal: Platforms must remove objectionable content within 24 hours of receiving a complaint related to defamation, public order, hate speech, etc.

• Monthly compliance reports: Platforms must publish reports on complaints and actions taken.

• Traceability of messages: Messaging platforms are required to trace the originator of flagged content.

• Voluntary verification: Social media companies must provide mechanisms for voluntary user verification.

• Identification of first originator: Platforms must identify the first originator of harmful content when required by law.

• Prohibition of certain types of content: Content that affects the sovereignty and integrity of India, endangers public order, is defamatory, or infringes upon the rights of others is prohibited.

Furthermore, social media platforms employ a variety of strategies and mechanisms to moderate political content on their platforms. Some common methods used to moderate political content include community guidelines, content moderation algorithms, human moderation teams, etc.

While all these measures are in place there must be a collaboration between the platforms and critical stakeholders including brands, influencers, civil society organizations, fact-checkers, and the government to develop effective strategies for tackling fake and harmful content. Brands and social media influencers can play a crucial role in guiding their followers on what is and isn't acceptable behaviour online.

Moving forward, social media platforms must adopt clear and transparent policies for political content while considering the local context. In a country like India, content moderation in vernacular languages is very critical and hence investment should be made in human reviewers and technological tools to effectively moderate such content. 

This article is penned by Anand Krishna, Director – Brand Management, Mirum India.