Politics of social media posts

The trolling of V.T. Balram, MLA, on Facebook recently by alleged CPI(M) activists for his anti-Marxist comment, which was leaked from a closed Congress group, has thrown light on the new low hit by political debates in the social media.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan says interactions on social media by lakhs of party activists are not something that can be controlled from the party headquarters. Groups claiming to represent political parties on social media need not always reflect the party’s positions.

People ignorant of this may trigger an uninformed debate, which fast degenerates into name calling, which is not acceptable. “Participants in social media debates should display maturity and intelligence to engage in thought-provoking discussions, which may take some time,” says Mr. Balakrishnan.

Sudheeran’s stance

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president V.M. Sudheeran says party workers have been asked to maintain high standards and stay true to facts while engaging in social media debates. Misinformation and defamatory campaigns against political opponents would not be tolerated. Any deviation from the accepted path would be immediately dealt with.

Bharatiya Janata Party State president V. Muraleedharan says the decency and acceptable behaviour expected of public workers in society should be maintained in social media as well.

“Our workers are oriented to propagate the party’s philosophy to the public and that’s applicable to their use of social media also. Apart from occasions like elections when we undertake orchestrated efforts on social media, the party does not issue guidelines to workers on their day-to-day interaction in media like Facebook,” he says.

T.M. Thomas Isaac, MLA, among the most active politicians in social media, says politically loaded statements and pontificating will not win attention in the social media. “Personalised narratives evoking interest beyond the politically inclined is the best practice in social media. Ultimately, vitriolic and politically biased statements by political activists backfire since it will only damage the reputation of the party they support,” says Dr. Isaac who has amassed more than two lakh followers in just over a year on Facebook.