Dear Jeyamohan,
Hatred and malice continuously flood social media platforms. Information is often presented merely as a vehicle for this malice. In other words, no information reaches us in its pure, unadulterated form. In the past—when newspapers were the primary medium—even if news reports harbored underlying agendas, they still functioned fundamentally as news. Today, however, genuine news is non-existent; instead, what reaches us are reports that have been twisted, in one way or another, to serve the interests of a specific faction. This is precisely why hatred and malice have proliferated to such an alarming extent.
While discussing this recently, a prominent public relations manager shared a significant observation: today, political parties maintain massive social media machinery. The DMK operates an organization called ‘PEN’; the TVK runs an entity known as ‘ROOT’; and the Bharatiya Janata Party manages over twenty distinct media administration units. On average, each of these units employs more than 500 people. Collectively, these individuals receive monthly salaries amounting to several crores of rupees. They create thousands of fake online accounts, through which they collectively propagate a specific narrative or viewpoint.
These factions also actively promote certain individuals as “intellectuals,” inflating their stature and influence beyond all proportion. These individuals, too, are on the payroll. Consequently, due to the overwhelming power of this colossal media machinery, neither the independent thoughts of genuine thinkers nor the personal opinions of ordinary citizens can locate a space to be articulated. You have only one option: align yourself with one of these “giants” and exclusively serve as their mouthpiece. Should you refuse to do so, they will all join forces to systematically dismantle and obliterate you.
The destruction that these “media giants” have wrought upon freedom of expression and independent thought over the recent past is truly monumental. Even the slightest questioning of their fabrications will result in a vicious attack and shredding of your reputation. The Bharatiya Janata Party forbids you from asking even a single question when it asserts that India is achieving glorious progress. If you do, you are branded a traitor. When the narrative is ceaselessly propagated—claiming that Tamil Nadu was built solely by Periyar and M. Karunanidhi and that every other administrator and politician, from Kamarajar onwards, accomplished absolutely nothing—if you dare to raise even the slightest doubt regarding this, you will be branded a “Sanghi” and subjected to public vilification.
Amidst these fierce clashes fueled by hatred, it has become impossible to discuss any issue meaningfully. It is these very individuals who have degraded social media platforms. These “social media giants” bear a massive responsibility for destroying the immense opportunities we once possessed to engage in dialogue, to foster democracy, and to disseminate ideas among the public. However, given the current Indian context, it appears futile to even discuss this matter any further.
On the other hand, it seems that beneath the colossal edifice constructed by these giants, ordinary people continue to engage in intellectual discourse and express their thoughts in their own distinct ways. It is only when even those possessing such monstrous power are compelled to take a beating that we discover ourselves clinging to a faint glimmer of hope—the hope that truth, after all, never truly sleeps.
— Y. Ethirajan
