Ab u s eo f So c i a l Me di a December 16, 2014 by hariharan kumar Leave a Comment
By Pranav Gupta, Symbiosis Law School, Pune Editor’ Edi r’s s Note: Th This is re rese sear arch ch pa pape perr em emph phas asiz izes es on se seve verral attributes attri butes of violen violence ce that prevails prevails in Indi India a and which provokes the aggression and crime. It also includes numerous issues related to religion and community violence, also the present date rumor tools like social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter Twitter,, SS etc.! which have emerged as one of the sharpest weapons, complimenting politics and media which easily misguides the mob. The paper also e"plains the rel relati ation on bet betwee ween n int interc ercom ommu munit nity y and int interr erreli eligio gious us vio violen lence ce and showcases the impact of such aggression and how di#erent religions and religious te"ts backed their views over crime. It also attempts to take a broad but detailed account of use $ and misuse $ of social media, print and electronic media in during riots .The need forr %r fo %res espo pons nsib ible le& & us use e of so soci cial al ne netw twor orki king ng si site tes s li like ke tw twit itte terr, Facebook and others during a communal riot will be taken up for discussion in the conte"t of hate propaganda, instances of fake and misleading videos or rumors being propagated. It also presents a case study on the rol ole e social media played in the recent uzzafarnagar riots.
SOCI AL MEDI AI NT HE ARENA OF COMMUNALVI OL ENCE India can be marked by the diversity of traditions and practices. Indi In dia a is th the e bi birt rthp hpla lace ce of va vari riou ous s reli eligi gion ons; s; na name mely ly Hi Hind ndui uism sm,, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Cultural diversity tolerance are both bo th br brou ough ghtt ab abou outt in th the e co coun untr try y by la la! ! an and d cu cust stom om,, !h !hic ich h associates them to religious communities. "he amount of diversity in the belief systems of India today has resulted in to certain social struct str uctur ures es !it !ith h relig eligiou ious s ide ideas as and e# e#pr press ession ions s cla claimi iming ng si$ si$abl able e in%uences. Human society is a collection of various groups and individuals !ith distinct identities !hich are divided on the basis of class, religion, and culture. &very society has its uni'ue identity !hich di(ers it from fr om ano anothe therr and the str strugg uggles les for lim limite ited d re resou sourrces put the these se groups or divided societies to a con%icting stage. "hese communal or social con%icts !hether non)violent or violent are someho! a form of human action. Communalism is an e#tensive phenomenon
in the social life of an Indian citi$en and communal riots are the morally reprehensible !ay of e#pressing it. Communal riots have become an undiminished entirety part of communalism communalism.. *n event can be classi+ed as a communal riot on t!o grounds' grounds' rstly , if there is violence and,secondly and,secondly , if t!o or more communally identi+ed groups confront each other or the members of the other group, at some point during the violence.iviolence.i- "here "here have been several horri+c communal riots have been the /01 Sikhriots and the 2332 4u5ara 4u5 aratt 64o 64odhr dhra7 a7 rio riots ts the re recen centt 8u$ 8u$a(a a(arn rnaga agarr rio riots. ts. Soc Social ial media had a key role in the *ssam violence, 9isht!ar 6Jammu7 this time in the 8u$a(arnagar riots also, the posts by user over :ace aceboo book, k, "!it !itter ter,, S8S cov covera erage ge by the Ind Indian ian med media ia ten tend d to a(ect the mold the opinions and actions of the other individuals of the society society.. "he internet has become an integral part of modern living. "he spread of of social media and the use of of platforms platforms is changing the !ay society operates. Social media has been playing a destructive role in inciting communal violence in India and time has come to check its misuse. Social net!orking sites are a threat to national security as they are used as tools for drug tracking, money laundering and match)+#ing, terrorism, instigating violence and for rumor tools etc. Social media tools like •
Blogs
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=iscussion forums
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8icro blogs
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S8S
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And the most burning issue, i.e. Social networking sites – Facebook, Twitter etc.
Social media media can can be de+ne de+ned, d, among among other other things, things, as as tools tools;; ho! they the y are used, used, by !ho !hom m they are used used an and d for !hat !hat re reaso ason n can represent repr esent either a threat threat or an opportunity opportunity for national security, security, it is itself shouldn>t be seen as a potential threat threat to national national security security but those those !ho use use these tools may pose a potential risk. risk. ?It is no! a given that social media environments are important sources of data for understanding the dynamics of the di(usion of information and human behavior behavior-@. @. &vidence suggests that social medi me dia a ha had d an im impa pact ct on ev even ents ts su such ch as 8u 8u5a 5a(a (arrna naga garr ri riot ots, s, 4odh 4o dhar ara a Ai Aiot ots, s, Bab abri ri 8a 8as5 s5id id ri riot ots s et etc. c. 4r 4rou oups ps rep eprres esen enti ting ng a
potential thr potential threat eat to national national security security like like Inter Internatio national nal terror terrorist ist groups, "ransnational Crime rgs, Cracker groups, Aeligious sects, Hack Hac ker gr group oups, s, 4 4>s >s,, Int Inter ernat nation ional al or organ gani$a i$atio tions, ns,*ll *llied ied for foreig eign n states, terrorist groups etc.iietc.ii-
SOCI ALMEDI AARUMORT OOL Aumor tools have a lethal role in inciting communal violence in India Aumor and time has come to have a check on its harmful misuseiiimisuseiii- so so that it does not again cause erosion in inter)community relations. :irst of all it is important for everybody including police other governing sources to understand ho! the ne! media is used by miscreants. *n e(ective mechanism is needed to monitor such misuse of social media. "he sad part is riot control plans that e#ist at present !ere made by 6the colonial7 British rulers. It has not been moderni$ed to suit present timesivtimesiv-.. *ccording to reports Dttar Eradesh Eolice, a dubious video clip that reportedly sho!ed the e#ecution by mob of t!o t! o Hin indu du Ja Jatt boy oys s th that at !as ci cirrcu cula latted fu fuel elle led d the ri rio ots in 8u$a(arnagar. But the footage !as later found to be a video shot in Eakistan and its role in 8u$$a(arnagar riots is still in 'uestion, the video became so popular that its snapshots !ere also published into the pages of some Hindi dailies. Certain political +gures !ere also booked under Sections 123 6forgery7, FG)* 6promoting enmity on religious grounds7 and 23)B 6conspiracy7 of the IEC and Section of the Information "echnology *ct for making this video public and inciting communal violence.vviolence.vIn July 232, during the violence bet!een indigenous Bodos and 8uslim 8us lims s in *s *ssam sam,, cer certai tain n ima images ges !er !ere e cir circul culate ated, d, fue fuelin ling g pan panic ic resulting in the e#odus of thousands of northeastern to their native places from di(erent parts. Similarly, riots that broke in 9isht!ar in Jammu and 9ashmir after &id celebrations !ere also aggravated by certai cer tain n pos postin tings gs on the soc social ial me media dia.. "he sit situat uation ion !as ch check ecked ed !ithin the right time and the riots !ere restrained. In 9isht!ar, the materi mat erial al on soc social ial me media dia !er !ere e imm immedi ediate ately ly tr track acked ed and cur curbed bed,, other!ise the result riots !ould have been di(erent. Certain ne!spapers !hich are morphed !ith in%ammatory headlines also have a larger role in the curving opinions and actions of the common people !ho do not follo! :acebook or t!itter. )ainik *agran >s *agran >s 8u$a(arnagar edition on September / reads readsviviusalmaanon dwaaraa +induon kaa katleamaari -uslims continue to slaughter +indus. September 0 !as also morphed !ith a fake headline
"he actual version read %/ %/an anch chay ayat at se la laut ute e do lo logo go ki kigo goli li ma mar r kehatya (Two (Two killed on their way back from /anchayat!.& Its morphed version read %uz %uza#arn a#arnagarm agarmeinu einusalm salmanok anokaaata aaatank, nk, +induome +ind uomein0ha in0hauf uf (uza#arnagar terrorized by uslims, +indus in fear.& It has become dicult for government to check the activities on social soc ial net net!or !orkin king g sit sites. es. In *ug *ugust ust23 232, 2, !he !hen n mo morp rphed hed pic pictur tures es !ere used by mischief makers in the form of 88S to fuel communal tension by targeting people from northeast. "he 4overnment had then braced do!n by banning bulk S8S and 88S for a certain peri pe riod od.. "h "he e ta task sk !a !as s mad ade e mo morre di di cu cult lt !i !ith th mo most st pi pict ctur ures es morph mo rphed ed and upl upload oaded ed on !eb !ebsit sites es in Eaki akista stan n and som some e oth other er countries !here vie!ing them !as easily possible."he government has to depend on the micro)blogging and social)net!orking sites !hose servers are located in the DS to act against the posts and uploads. *s these companies interpret individual>s privacy, it took days before ob5ectionable content !as blo loc cked.viivii- Social Social net!orking sites are becoming a tool to benign anyone>s image. *nd, it is 'uite dicult for us to take legal action against o!ners of the sites that are situated in the di(erent countries, as they are not bound to obey our la!.viiila!.viii-
T HECHANGI NG SPHEREOFNEWS WS MEDI A "he face of media is changing !ith ne! communications technologies such as camera)enabled mobile phones, spy cameras voice recor recorders ders are giving 5ournalists 5 ournalists an opportunity to gather and disperse dispe rse infor informatio mation n gathe gathered red very easil easily y.i#- =ig =igiti iti$at $ation ion of the ne!s media has led to compression of time and distance but various hidden realities and factor still a(ect the reporting of con%icts. "he images broadcast in our living rooms are not only informing the global audience of the horri+c happenings but might also instigate furt fu rthe herr vio viole lenc nce e in an e# e#is isti ting ng vi viol olen entt si situ tuat atio ion. n. "h "her eref efor ore, e, th the e media>s report of a clash situation leads to the clarifying of the con%ict itself. itself. "he media kindles the opinion)building and impact the poli po liti tica call de deci cisi sion ons s an and d au audi dien ence ce>s >s rea eact ctio ions ns in so soci ciet ety y. "h "his is eventually shapes crises and con%icts as in carefully selected ne!s ti tigh ghtt co cont ntrrol ov over er th the e med edia ia.. Si Sinc nce e in inde depe pend nden ence ce un unti till th the e invasion of cable television in India, the electronic media had served as the mouthpiece of the government. In the peration Blue star /01 / 01 th the e lo loca call me medi dia a !e !erre no nott su supp ppor ortiv tive e of th the e Si Sikh kh ca caus uses es.. 8orreo 8o eove ver, r, si sinc nce e th the e be begi ginn nnin ing g of th the e pr prob oble lems ms in Eu Eun5 n5ab ab,, th the e
4overnme 4over nment nt ha had d st stric rictt con contr trol ol on the med media ia and imp impose osed d hea heavy vy censorship. "here !as a tight control over media so capture the horri+c events !ere not even allo!ed in the local land. But during 2332 4u5arat riots the t!o &nglish)language national ne!spapers in India, "he "imes of India and the Indian &#press !ere critical of the state government. "he result of the multiple and comple# interests of reg egio ions ns,, gr grou oups ps !i !ith thin in th them em le lead ads s to ec econ onom omic ic,, so soci cial al an and d political con%icts. Such con%icts are dicult to handle and re'uires negotiations bet!een the parties involved.
HAT ECRI MES "he concept of hate crimes by analy$ing the various de+nitions stat st ated ed by di di(e (erren entt cr crim imin inol olog ogis istt th thrrou ough ghou outt th the e !o !orl rld, d, Hate Crime or Hate Violence is said to be, crime or violence committed due du e to th the e vi victi ctim> m>s s rea eall co colo lor, r, ra race ce,, rel elig igio ion, n, di disa sabil bilit ity, y, se se#u #ual al orientatio orien tation n or origi origin n##-.. It> It>s s an o(e o(ence nce that that sho!s sho!s the evidence evidence pre5udice made on religion, race, se#ual orientation or ethnicity. Karious 5urists from DS* and &urope assumed that the distinctiveness is only the e#clusive criteria for studying the concept of hate crimes. Ho!ever, in hate crimes, the state of socio)economic should shoul d be e#am e#amined ined thor thoroughl oughly y. "he socia sociall econo economic mic facto factors rs lik like e social soc ial lea learn rning ing of bia bias, s, ine ine'ua 'ualit lity, y, pol policy icy of sel select ective ive han handli dling ng of groups violence, economic factors etc. have ma5or impact over hate crimes. Here is a case study of such nature !hich recently shook not only the roots of Indian government but also displays the political as !ell as ethical side of India !hich has turned out too abysmal.
CASE
ST UDY : I MP ACT
OF
T HE
MEDI A MUZ AF F ARNAGARRI OT S In the recent decades, !ith a sharp rise in the communal incidents and religion based tensions, the gro!th of communal riots and force has ac'uired a dangerous position in India. Communal violence has been prevailing in India since a long time. :or e#ample, the /01 anti)Sikh riots. 2Lth *ugust 23G, a terrifying yet sad day in India !hich gave birth to a ne! group of communal riots namely 8u$a(arnagar Aiots>.
Severe clashes bet!een the t!o communities, the 8uslims> and Jats> in 8u$a(arnagar and Shamli, India broke out in the parts of rural areas and communally sensitive district of 8u$a(arnagar in Dttar Eradesh !hich claimed more than 1G lives leaving /G plus in5ured. "hese riots in 8u$a(arnagar have not only raised 'uestions about the social stability in India but also about the ability of the civil administration in order to remove disorder and enforce tough rules and la!s against targeted communal violence. :rom in ince cept ptio ion, n, th the e si situ tuat atio ions ns an and d fa fact ctor ors s !h !hic ich h le led d to th the e emergence of such serious riots and violence !as, on this one day !hen a Hindu girl !as !alking past a 8uslim community on her !ay to school; she !as being harassed by a man !ho passed le!d, insulting comments on her. "he girl then further complained to her brothers about the incident. s stomach, !hich ultimately resulted in his death. "he guy !ho had harassed the girl belonged to the 8uslim community. "he friends, family and neighbors of that 8uslim boy caught hold of the girl>s brothers and lynched them mercilessly in front of many !itnesses. "his !as not the end but a beginn beg inning ing !h !hich ich ope opened ned doo doors rs to the 8u$ 8u$a(a a(arn rnaga agarr com commu munal nal riots. "he girl>s father, !hen tried +ling a :IA against the family of the boy !ho had harassed the girl, the police refused to register the :IA. n the other hand, !hen the 8uslim family !ent to +le a :IA for the murder of their son !ho harassed the girl, the police readily registered the case and arrested the :ather of the girl !ith his other close relatives. Here, th Her the e pr prob oble lem m ac actu tual ally ly st star arte ted, d, as by th thin inki king ng th that at cl clea earr discrimination !as done by the administration, the Jat community re'uested the panchayat of their community to force the police in order or der to dr drop op the cha charg rges es aga agains instt gir girl>s l>s fat father her.. o onet nethel heless ess,, the *dministration did not take any +nal decision. "he Jat community agai ag ain n ap appr proa oach ched ed th the e Ean anch chay ayat at un unde derr th the e B Bah ahu u Be Beti ti Ba Bach chao ao Sammelan> and distributed a fe! in%ammatory videos and pictures via C=M88S.
social media like :acebook, 88S and C=>s as a tool arouse hatred befo be forre as !el elll as dur urin ing g th the e ri riot ots. s. 8o 8orreo eove verr, th the e peo eopl ple e of 8u$a( a(a arnagar gave a communal colo lorr to the violence by e#a #agg gger erat atin ing g the in inci cide den nts ts.. 8a 8any ny Hin indi di ne ne! !s ch chan anne nels ls an and d ne!spapers misreported misreported the happenings on daily basis by setting up a picture in the minds of the public that it !as the 8uslims !ho !ere slaughtering the Hindus and initiating distorted violence. *s a result, there !as a severe rise in the rumors and passion to +ght and revolt back in the riots.
PLANSOFGOVERNMENTT O CURB THEMI MI SUSEOFSOCI ALMEDI A . Setting up of a cyb cyber er sur survei veillan llance ce ag agen enci cies es !h !hic ich h ca can n fore!arn about any such malicious intent and timely notifying in order to take suitable action. 2. :ra rame me gu guid idel elin ines es fo forr te tele leco com m op oper erat ator ors s to pr prev even entt pa pani nic c reaction and block harmful content on the internet and social media. G. Erepar Erepare e a leg legal al authorit authority y app appro roved ved by the govern governme ment nt to +ll the e#isting gaps in the Information "echnology *ct for dealing !ith such situation, including deterring malicious use of the internet and social media. Sociall me Socia medi dia a is 5u 5ust st a bo body dy to br broa oadc dcas astt in info forrma mati tion on 'u 'uic ickl kly y N !hether the information is good or bad depends ultimately on the individual, ho! he takes it.
ROL ET HAT ME MEDI A SHOUL D PL AY DURI NG COMMUNALRI OT S =espite the increased level of communication methods, very fe! gover gov ernm nment ents s say abo about ut suc succes cessfu sfull com commu munic nicati ation on to the ma mass ss during con%icts because they fail to understand the perception of the same con%ict in the minds of the common mass. mass.#i- "he role of the social media in covering and resolving con%icts, especially those revolving around the religious di(erences that may lead to fueling communal riots in India is e#tremely critical.#iicritical.#ii- "here "here are enough challenges faced by a 5ournalist and media personnel regarding the care he should take in such a situation.
"he guidelines for a reporter in covering communal riots should be to look out for detailed background information, not continue !ith the stereotyping of communities, +nd residents !ho deal !ith both the communities, talk to victims from both sides, corroborate the victims> as !ell as the police>s accounts, discover the role of the police pol ice,, the pol politi iticia cians ns and the med media ia and hig highli hlight ght st stori ories es !he !here re commu com munit nities ies hav have e hel helped ped eac each h oth other er."h ."he e peo people ple of soc societ iety y for form m their opinions based on the immediate coverage of reporters on the ground and ho! television anchors and the media e#pert analyst sitting in the studios analy$e in their frame of mind. Aeporters and 5ournalists are not value)free. * communal riot is a sensitive issue and an d th thei eirr pe pers rson onal al op opin inio ion n ma may y ge gett in th the e !a !ay y of pr prof ofes essi sion onal al reporting. It !ould be e#tremely dicult for a reporter or a 5ournalist to cov cover er an and d re repor portt on a com commu munal nal rio riot. t. Ho Ho!ev !ever, er, thi this s pr probl oblem em !ould halt if the reporter or the 5ournalist keeps the basic concept of reporting in mind, !here +rst of all he or she needs to understand that con%icts !here heMshe is a social process in !hich he or she is an important social actor, an actor !hose 5ob 5ob is to halt the con%ict and not add to it.#iiiit.#iiin the broader aspect, there are many functions of the media in usual and reporters in particular include preventing or calming the con%ict so that a viable solution is reached immediately. =uring a communal riot, the media can even get the internatio ion nal perspective on the events and thereby create an environment !here !here the !orld starts to discuss the same. Dltimately, it might force the national and the state governments to act accordingly in fovour of the society. "he media should reali$e that they can either alleviate or aggravate the situation. "he media have the capability to provide a great deal of information during an ongoing communal riot. "hey can inform the public or communicate directly !ith the victims and their families ."hus, controlled steps and actions should be taken in order to prevent the situation from further aggravation.#ivaggravation.#iv-
CONCL USI ON "hrough our resear research, ch, !e have been to conclude that responsib responsibility ility of med edia ia in incr crea ease se !h !hil ile e co cove veri ring ng th the e co comm mmun unal al ri riot ots. s. 8e 8edi dia a coverage social media helps people to get ne! information and ne! opinion to the same issue, it is necessary to insure the liberty of the opinion giving and vie!s by people in social media helps people to have better and update information regarding a !ith range of social soc ial,, pol politi itical cal,, tec techni hnical cal issues. issues. Bu Butt thi this s is imp import ortant ant that !e should shoul d not rep repro robates bates and trouble trouble makers makers to misuse social media. media. "here is an urgency in the part of the government government to install e(ective mechan mec hanism ism and sur survei veillan llance ce sys system tem !hi !hich ch che check ck ob5 ob5ect ection ionabl able e cont co nten entt an and d su susp spen ends ds it its s tr tran ansm smis issi sion on th thro roug ugh h so soci cial al me medi dia. a. "elecom " elecom companies should develop e(ective techni'ues to trace the
location of the uploading content. :e! sections of the media and some users of social net!orking sites bid to hurt the sentiments of the religious groups through their opinion blogs and posts, !hich have tendency to provoke, deprave the peaceful ambience and lead the communal unrest. Social net!orking sites should be boosted to device greater self)check that they contribute lest to large scale la! and order disturbance. "he state should use all measures to punish those guilty for fueling the communal violence. It is also important thatt med tha media ia should should kno kno! ! tha thatt the they y can relive relive the situatio situations ns and should react responsibly. Bit alone media can never bring about a racial change overnight, support from the part of readers are also re'u e'uir ired ed,, an and d tr try y to ma main inta tain in th the e ha harrmo mony ny in th the e so soci ciet ety y an and d promote the essence of fraternity.
