In the post-Jayalalithaa era, internet memes — images or videos accompanied by a witty comment — have grown to cover the entire gamut of political parties, exerting influence on the way youth see politics.
While tech-savvy youngsters, who run popular ‘meme’ pages with millions of followers on social media, got involved in volunteering during the December 2015 floods, they switched gears and played a central role in mobilising thousands of people demanding that jallikattu be held.
Asked why many of these pages made a sudden shift to politics from posting jokes about cinema and other topics, Gautham Govindarajan, who runs Facebook page ‘Chennai Memes’ that reaches over 750,000 members and played an important role in the jallikattu protests, says youngsters are looking for accessible information on politics.
“Young people in the 18-26 age group are interested in politics, but they don’t know what and how to think about politics. So, we give them an image and a witty caption that has a point of view. When we post an image, it is easy to read and forward to others. Not many might click on a link and read on the website or an app,” he says.
Gautham claims that many of Chennai Memes’ fans have admitted to following only this page for news and therefore they try to reflect the popular mood. The topics also go beyond party politics.
Alarm over facts
This has alarmed many who say misinformation and propaganda could damage political discourse. Reacting to “pseudo-scientific propaganda masquerading as facts,” Dr. T. Satva, a city-based anaesthesiologist, who has been writing about misinformation around vaccines, fertilizer and pesticides on Facebook, said sensational misinformation about hydrocarbon projects or fertilizers in farming cannot be countered because it is mostly anonymous.
“Most of the forwards circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp is pseudo-science. They say Siddha medicine is everything. They speak against Rubella vaccine and accuse those who support it as stooges of big corporate companies.”
Even before Lok Sabha elections in 2014, aspiring filmmaker Thameem decided that he wouldn’t counter Sangh Parivar’s propaganda about Narendra Modi’s achievements with facts. “Most of it was incorrect but it was being shared widely. Instead of putting out the correct information, I decided to play the troll myself.”
He said he created memes lavishing enormous praise on Mr. Modi and attributed it to iconic leaders such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. “It is not easy to counter misinformation with correct information. But, when a Modi supporter shared my meme, his own friends and other supporters began questioning him about why he was sharing information without checking. My target was those who are sitting on the wall. They are the gullible ones who fall for propaganda,” he said.
Asked how political parties are coping with the new phenomenon, D. Ravi Kumar, general secretary, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, said the meme culture was a mere extension of Tamil Nadu’s politics of posters.
In one early spoof, “DMK printed posters in which a former Chief Minister, Kamaraj, holds his hand over his chest. On top of his image is a parody quote of Chief Minister Bhakthavatsalam: ‘Eli kari thinna sonnadhu endha katchi?’ (Which party asked Tamils to eat rat meat?) Below Kamaraj’s image, is the answer: ‘Enga Katchi Dhaan!) (My party said it). Is this not a precursor to a meme,” he asked.
