Table of Contents
Introduction
The article published in the editorial section of The Hindu Newspaper focuses on how digital platforms, especially social media and online ads, are playing a huge role in politics and elections. It uses examples from the UK’s Brexit referendum and elections in India to show how political parties are increasingly relying on digital advertising to influence voters. Let’s break it down in simpler terms, step by step:
Article Explanation
1. Brexit and the Power of Online Campaigns
Picture this: It’s a summer evening in the UK, just before the big Brexit vote, when people had to decide whether the UK should stay in or leave the European Union (EU). At this time, social media was filled with all kinds of posts and advertisements trying to influence people’s decisions. Among these, is a campaign called ‘Leave. EU’ started standing out.
They used clever strategies to appeal to people’s emotions, focusing on fears and concerns about losing their sense of identity. But the key here is that they used technology in a very targeted way. Instead of showing the same message to everyone, they carefully selected certain people to show their ads to, using data to figure out who might be swayed by their messages. This approach helped convince many voters to support leaving the EU.
2. Digital Campaigning in Indian Elections
In India, a similar trend is happening. Political parties are pouring large amounts of money into digital advertisements because they know how influential these ads can be in winning votes. For example, during the 2023 Karnataka state elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent a staggering ₹7,800 lakh on digital ads. This was more than half of their entire campaign budget. The Indian National Congress, another major party, spent ₹4,900 lakh on digital ads, which also made up more than half of their total spending. This shows that digital advertising has become much more important than traditional ways of campaigning, like organizing rallies, putting up billboards, or handing out flyers. It’s a big shift in how elections are fought.
3. Targeting Audiences with Precision
One of the main advantages of digital campaigns is the ability to “micro-target” voters. This means that political parties can show specific ads to very particular groups of people based on factors like where they live, their interests, or their concerns. For instance, the BJP was able to target ads to more than 1,700 different pin codes (specific local areas) with just one ad campaign. This allows them to send very personalized messages to people, making the ads much more effective. The goal is to speak directly to the issues that matter most to those voters, which can be a powerful way to influence how they vote.
4. The Role of Third-Party Campaigners
In addition to the main political parties running ads, there’s another group involved in digital campaigns called “third-party campaigners.” These are organizations or groups that aren’t officially part of any political party but still run ads to support certain candidates or political ideas. These third-party groups are spending a lot of money on digital ads, sometimes even more than the political parties themselves.
For example, leading up to the 2024 elections in India, some of these groups spent over ₹2,260 lakh on ads in just 90 days. However, a big problem with these third-party campaigners is that they often post harmful or inflammatory content. Some of their ads used hateful or Islamophobic language, which stirs up fear and anger. This kind of content is dangerous because it manipulates voters and creates divisions in society. It’s also unfair because the official political parties usually avoid using such extreme language, but these third-party groups can post whatever they want without much oversight.
5. Challenges in Digital Campaigning
The article points out three major issues that come with digital campaigning:
- Unequal spending power: Some political parties have a lot more money to spend on digital ads than others. This means wealthier parties can dominate online platforms and reach more voters, giving them an unfair advantage. To fix this, there should be limits on how much parties can spend on digital ads, so the playing field is more even for all parties, big or small.
- Harmful content: The third-party groups that run ads sometimes use harmful or hateful language, which can create a toxic environment during elections. There should be stricter rules that force these groups to report how much money they spend and to make sure their ads are appropriate. Other countries, like the UK and Canada, already have such rules in place.
- Different rules for different platforms: Political ads behave differently depending on which platform they’re on. For example, on Google, political ads are usually more restrained and avoid extreme language, but on platforms like Meta (Facebook), many third-party groups are top spenders, and their ads often contain inflammatory content. This shows that different platforms have different standards, and there needs to be a set of consistent rules for all platforms to follow. This would ensure that all tech companies are held accountable for the kind of political ads they allow.
6. Why We Need New Rules for Digital Campaigning
The way elections are run has changed dramatically because of digital platforms, but the rules haven’t caught up yet. In today’s digital age, there are many loopholes in how political advertising is regulated. To protect democracy, we need new rules that address these challenges. In India, there should be more studies on how digital campaigning works so that we can develop better ways to manage it fairly and transparently.
As the article points out, we celebrate democracy on days like International Day of Democracy (September 15), but it’s important to focus on reforms that ensure our democratic processes are fair in the digital age. This means creating effective regulations that apply to digital campaigning, so technology is used to strengthen democracy, not weaken it.
Conclusion
In summary, the article explains that digital platforms like social media and online ads have drastically changed how elections are run. While these platforms can give a voice to political campaigns, they also come with risks, like the spread of harmful content and an unfair advantage for parties with more money. To protect the integrity of elections and democracy, we need better rules and regulations around digital campaigning, especially to control spending and ensure that the content shared is fair and not harmful.
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The Hindu Epaper Editorial Explanation given by Hello Student is only a supplementary reading to the original article to make things easier for the students.
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The Editorial Page of The Hindu is an essential reading for all the students aspiring for UPSC, SSC, PCS, Judiciary etc or any other competitive government exams.
This may also be useful for exams like CUET UG and CUET PG, GATE, GMAT, GRE AND CAT
To read this article in Hindi –https://bhaarat.hellostudent.co.in/