Author: Kirti Wadhawan
NewsFlash Desk: A silent digital storm is brewing, where every scroll may unknowingly shape your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. In this hyperconnected age, what appears as harmless content often carries hidden agendas, subtly influencing perceptions, triggering reactions, and quietly redefining reality for millions.
Gone were the days when social media platforms were recognised only as mere spaces for sharing memories and chatting, exchanging likes and comments. Today, many social media platforms, especially Meta services like Facebook and Instagram, have been used to ignite social sentiment and wage emotional wars through provocative videos, viral hashtags, and disturbing images. Situations like social unrest have become common, with Instagram turning into one of the biggest platforms used for sloganeering for and against causes, depending on the agenda.
From the mere “Bache dialogues” of Dhurandhar to AI-generated funny videos of any renowned personality to defame them, everything on the internet is carefully crafted and fabricated depending on the agenda decided to be showcased. The irony is that 418 million Instagram users are being catered to with such fabricated content daily, intentionally misleading innocent minds in the wrong direction to think and act accordingly. Unfortunately, there is no one to control all this misleading and harmful content, which is spoiling our society, especially the minds of our youth.
“Millions are consuming manipulated realities daily, often without even realising they are being influenced.”
A report has recently confirmed that 50% and 37% of people rely on YouTube and Instagram for their news sources daily, respectively. The irony lies in the shift from traditional, relatively unbiased news sources to more biased platforms that cater to fabricated content to build decisive opinions and perceptions about stories. This is not limited to India alone. Even developed nations like the United States of America have experienced community and ethnic violence triggered by toxic social media content.
A rough global estimate with respect to Instagram suggests that approximately 10–15% of accounts are fake or bot-based, created purposely to deliver unauthentic information and misguide communities. A report by Meta Inc. itself revealed that 1.35 lakh Instagram accounts targeting children were removed. Yet, several accounts with fake but massive followings continue to operate. This highlights the alarming extent of misinformation and digital propaganda being used to deceive audiences with active digital footprints.
The need of the hour is to develop a strong sense of social media literacy among the masses, enabling them to better understand the credibility of the content they consume. Before trusting any information online, users must take time to cross-check and verify whether the facts, images, or narratives are genuine and relevant. Personal awareness is the only shield that can protect society from the growing information disaster.
We must become smarter while consuming online content because digital awareness is no longer optional; it is survival in the age of information warfare.
In a world where truth is edited, filtered, and sometimes fabricated, the real question is not what you see online, but whether you dare to question it before believing it.
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| Author: Kirti Wadhawan Assistant Professor, Management Department, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
