The Hide & Tweet Effect

SANJAY PINTO 

In his dramatic monologue on ‘The Faultless Painter’, Robert Browning used the expression “less is more”. More recently, one of the most prolific politicians on twitter – Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, seemed provoked enough to tweet that “I never thought I'd say this but I love having nothing to say on Twitter.” A fortnight ago, the “tweet a minute” CM had hinted that twitter was a “lose-lose” situation, referring to his ‘damned if you tweet, damned if you don’t’ predicament. If this is how one of the youngest Chief Ministers, who has tweeted over five thousand two hundred times, feels about the social media, how would one of the oldest former Chief Ministers view the barrage of comments on his foray into twitter? Be it Karunanidhi or any bigwig, I for one, welcome the entry of political leaders on the social media. It is a healthy sign. A reality check. Away from sycophancy, to quite the opposite! I just hope they don’t use it as a mere propaganda tool but actually engage with citizens. For many a dramatic dialogue! And will ghost writers please stay away?

When leaders tweet their political views or announcements, they may well dispense with the much  sought after press conferences. But there could be more inconvenient questions here. A media interaction is usually with about two dozen reporters; face to face at that. Twitter engagement is with lakhs of people; each an Editor In Chief of their own accounts, many with a degree of anonymity, firing the most difficult, often nasty salvos. There can be no excuse for slander but can they take hard hitting posers, harsh criticism? Or fair comment? Or just the truth? (The last two being exceptions to criminal defamation) Mamata Banerjee is reported to have jailed a poor man who asked her a tough question. So can politicians take it? The phrase ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen’ is relevant. It’s one thing to sign up on twitter but quite another to last. For that you need a thick skin. At the time of writing this column, @kalaignar89 has 3460 followers, 8 tweets and follows no one. While some of his party colleagues like Khushbu Sundar are elated, there are barbs coming in thick and fast. Someone suggests that tweets in Hindi or Sanskrit be sent to his account, others harp on 2G. Going by the number of fake profiles or handles of celebrities, many wonder if this is the real account of Karunanidhi. It reportedly is.

Forget the bitter rivalry among the political class. Are ‘We The People’ tolerant enough? Do we show enough respect for a different view, political or otherwise? My hunch is that despite the most common “Does Not Matter” statement on Political Views on facebook profiles,  many of us are as political as the parties. In person we may communicate in measured tones on political issues, if at all. The moment we log on to the net, something snaps and we go berserk. This is probably another factor that makes several politicians avoid the social media like swine flu! And it’s not only about the ‘hide and tweet’ trend. Go beyond even twitter to the Comments sections on news websites. Some are moderated, many are not. Some have a provision to report abuse. Those that are not monitored or edited are a virtual free for all. Many of the comments are certainly not printable. Or telecast worthy. Can a publication or channel allow on its website such defamatory content that it would never ever imagine going into print in say its ‘Letters To The Editor’ columns or as feedback on air? This is another form of social media. And we cannot have double standards.

Now for a dash of hope. I recently came across a page on facebook of a band – ‘Aarohi’ Deriving its name from the ascending note in music, this group reflects a sense of corporate karma. The band formed by lawyer Harishankar Mani, corporate honcho Sudeep Sangameswaran and others, belts out music solely to support orphanages. Charity for a song! Please welcome the good guys on the social media.

(An edited version of this column of mine was published in The Hindu)

Why Campaigning Works Better Than Violent Threats

SANJAY PINTO 

We’ve all heard school teachers telling their students that using foul language is a symptom of poor vocabulary. It jolly well is. In just the same way, getting abusive on the social media platform betrays a complete poverty of ideas. There is no dearth of people in India who may be angry, disappointed and let down by our politicians. It’s not just Team Anna. Not all of them need to or do show up at demonstrations or venues of fasts. It doesn’t mean they feel less strongly about corruption or other issues or are reluctant to champion a cause. Because there are methods. And there are methods. And there is the social media. A tweet or a wall post can be as effective as holding a placard outside someone’s home or office or along a route. But just how prudently is this done?

I’ve come across tweets against political bigwigs that are downright intimidatory and clearly constitute offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. Sample some. “I will worship the soil on which the corpse of xxx is found.”  Or, “I just can’t wait to put raw rice grains into the mouth of xxx.” (The reference is to a cremation ritual)  Then there’s this one: “xxx should be roasted alive.” And “The decapitated torso of xxx will be found on a street corner.” There are more direct threats: “xxx will be shot soon.” At one level, this could be the handiwork of loose canons rather than guided missiles. I’m not sure how many recipients of these threats read them or take them seriously. A poet in Chennai recently filed a criminal complaint after someone on twitter threatened to throw acid on her face. While few may actually intend carrying out their threats, the trend is yet another reflection of the violent society we live in. If you analyse the profiles of these individuals (assuming the information revealed is correct) and their language proficiency, you will find that many of them are well educated and well placed! Their cowboy tactics denigrate the medium and make it seem like an anti social media section.

If you want to take on the powers that be, there are courts, elections, space in the mainstream media and certainly better and civilised ways of using the social media. A few days ago, I put up a status message on facebook , looking for a case study of women drivers stalked and harassed by roadside Romeos after the ban on sun control film on cars. Not only did I get more than sufficient feedback, a healthy debate broke out on that thread and a friend suggested a powerful initiative – 'Hollaback! Chennai'. It’s tagline: “I don’t accept street harassment, I holla back!” says it all. I’ve heard of the global movement but it was good to know that a local chapter existed. The page has useful posts like “What to do when someone tries to grab you” and a healthy exchange of ideas and experiences.

Have you heard of avaaz.org? It calls itself “a global  web movement to bring people powered politics to decision making everywhere.” The site has had its share of impact and success. Consider what it flaunts on its home page. “In just 3 weeks, over 3 million of us worldwide signed a petition opposing a scandalous bill that would give the US government the right to shut down any website – targeting sites like YouTube, WikiLeaks and even Avaaz! We worked with other organisations such as DemandProgress, and President Obama’s team responded. Avaaz organised a 1 hour meeting with top White House officials to deliver the petition. The White House subsequently condemned the bill and key backers withdrew their support. As of right now, the Internet censorship bill is dead in the water. When we started, everyone told us the bill could not be stopped, now it’s been ditched by both parties -- a huge win for internet freedom and for people power!”

Here are classic cases of technology and the pester power of campaigning  put to good use. To be a change agent, you don’t need to call people names. Just Holla back or raise your avaaz! 

(An edited version of this column of mine was published in The Hindu)