Social networking has become a major tool to discuss communal issues in India or even in places like Nepal and Bangladesh.
As a result, it may not be simple fallacy that the Parliamentary Democracy and genuine Secularism are also under attack.
But in social networking also; there are wheels within wheels.
The 'Wall Street Journal' report in August 2020 cited quoted the case of one T. Raja Singh.
In a Facebook post, he reportedly said Rohingya Muslim refugees should be shot dead and Indian Muslims are traitors. He also threatened to demolish mosques. The posts violated Facebook's hate speech rules, but there was no action against Singh.
There was a BJP member of Telangana state's legislative assembly by that name. Did FB let it a pass ?
However, Singh claimed later that he has/had no Facebook account and that he cannot be responsible for an account operating in his name. His account was hacked in 2018 and he did not receive any response to the complaints he made about it.
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Misuse of AI on social media includes spreading disinformation via fake accounts and deepfakes, mass surveillance using facial recognition, conducting sophisticated social engineering and phishing attacks, and creating biased algorithms that can suppress legitimate speech or unfairly target groups.
These abuses pose risks to privacy, security, and the overall integrity of online discourse.
Disinformation & Manipulation
Cybercriminals use AI to create sophisticated bots that mimic human behavior on platforms like Spotify and Instagram, generating fake streams and activity to manipulate metrics or spread false content.
AI-generated "deepfake" audio and video can be used to create realistic but fake content, making it difficult to distinguish from truth. These are just mere symptoms of maladies.
In 2020, 'The Wall Street Journal' claimed that a top executive of Facebook in India had told employees that "punishing violations by politicians" from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party (BJP) would damage the company's "business prospects in the country."
As expected, the report sparked a major political row.
Opposition parties said Modi's pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a nexus with the popular social media sites to push the ideology of Hindu nationhood among some 600 million users.
The BJP and its associated groups control Facebook and WhatsApp in India, according to opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
"They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook," he had said.
Rahul has lost credibility via-a-vis making allegations is another different chapter of defeat.
But technically, the challenges are increasing by the day.
Loss of Human Touch: Over-reliance on AI in communication can make interactions feel impersonal, as AI lacks the empathy and nuanced understanding necessary for genuine relationship-building, says Ocoya.
In some cases, human operators work with AI to enhance manipulation, with humans assisting AI-powered bots to overcome conversational limitations for more effective social engineering.
Another disadvantage of AI in social media is its limited ability to be creative.
AI algorithms are designed to analyze data patterns and make data-driven decisions. While this can be useful for tasks such as content curation and scheduling, it may not be able to generate truly unique and innovative ideas that can capture the attention of the audience. Creativity is often a key factor in successful social media campaigns, and relying solely on AI may result in a lack of originality.
AI in social media relies heavily on data collection and analysis.
This data includes not only the information shared voluntarily by users but also the data collected through tracking and monitoring. Privacy concerns arise when users are unaware of how their data is being used and are uncomfortable with the level of surveillance that AI enables. The potential for misuse or unauthorized access to personal data is a significant disadvantage of AI in social media.
As AI technology advances, there is a growing concern about job displacement.
AI has the potential to automate many tasks that were previously done by humans, including social media management. While this may increase efficiency and reduce costs for businesses, it also means that certain job roles may become obsolete.
This can lead to unemployment and economic inequality if not properly managed.
However, ordinary netizens say it is easy to argue that a social network platform like Facebook or Twitter should take action against those fomenting communal troubles. To keep an eye on what comes out in Indian social media is a gigantic task due to its scale.
Moreover, those who spread "hardline statements" and views also do so using different styles at times and use double-meaning phrases.
Hindus have the advantage of numbers as the majority community in India.
Obviously, hardline views against Muslims and Christians find more space in cyberspace.
The main concern among opposition political parties is that controlled or guided social networking platforms could have a gory impact on India's democracy and strong secular fabric.
Data could be used in umpteen ways to drill home the message that the ruling political dispensation wants to enter the minds of millions of people. Besides running campaigns based on fake news and half-baked truths, data can also be used to send selective messages and target opponents.
A few years back, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded a joint parliamentary committee probe into "this nexus between BJP and Facebook." Pending the probe, Facebook should be barred from operating with any government department or constitutional body like the Election Commission of India, said party general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
Investment interests
Facebook may not have any political ideology vis-a-vis Indian polls. But it plays the BJP's tunes because the party in power can protect its business interests in India.
Facebook and its three associated social media platforms have some 600 million users in India, more than what they have in the US. While Facebook has 200 million users, the WhatsApp chat service has 300 million and Instagram 100 million.
Facebook has also invested billions in India and plans to make future investments to advance the business in various states ruled by the BJP.
ends
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