Context: Sensationalism through hashtags and misinformation campaigns on social media platforms has come under Govt's scrutiny. While MEA has said that before rushing to comment on matters, one should ascertain all facts and ensure a proper understanding of the issues at hand, the IT ministry has asked Twitter to ensure compliance to the law of the land. 

• The phenomenal rise of Social Media (SM) platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and others is proving to be a double-edged sword in the functioning of democracies. On the one hand, it has democratised access to information but on the other hand, it has also posed new challenges which are now directly impacting our democracies and the people.

In America,

• Social media telecasted an invading mob holding zip ties (zip ties imply a threat to the lives of lawmakers in the building).
• A truck filled with guns and bombs near the site of the attack that was discovered by law enforcement agencies was also telecasted.

In India,

• Social media was flooded with images of the religious flag of the Sikhs (Nishan Sahib) being hoisted at the Red Fort. This gave an impression that the protest was politically motivated.

Benefits of Social Media
Democratisation of Information

• Social media is allowing the democratisation of knowledge and broader communication.
• Billions of netizens around the world now feel empowered to bypass traditional curators of information.
• They have also become creators and disseminators of content, not just consumers of it.

New Opportunities

• The rise of the virtual world provides voiceless people unprecedented opportunities to assert themselves and experience a sense of belongingness.
• The rise of several YouTubers as a medium of profession is a testimony of the phenomenon.

Wider and Heterogeneous Communities

• Online communities are, geographically, much wider and more heterogeneous than physical communities.
• In the past, many communities in India were not allowed to participate in public discourses, organise themselves and advance their thoughts and ideas.
• Their concerns, ideas, experiences, ambitions and demands largely went unheard.

Cheap and Easy

• Today, creating content needs less investment than the brick and mortar or any other Physical set up.
• It is more often soft-skill driven.
• With the assistance of technology, anyone can create competent, authentic, effective and fresh online content.

Countering The Hegemony

• Social Media has also evolved as a tool to counter the hegemony or narrative of traditional players.
• It has provided an alternate source of Knowledge in a world where mainstream media has come under severe public criticism for fake news and propaganda.

Closing The Distance

• Social Media has also bridged the distance.
• Friends and Family are now connected over WhatsApp and other Apps despite being far away in distance.

Direct Interaction With Government

• Today Social Media has empowered common people to directly interact with the government and avail government services directly.
• Common people tagging Railway and other ministries and the agencies responding to them is common news these days.

Challenges
Hate speech and Rumours

• Hate speech and rumours in India have been responsible for acts of violence and deaths in many of the cases for quite some time now.
• The most recent being the case when two sadhus and their driver were lynched in Gadchinchale village in Palghar, Maharashtra this year.
• The incident was fuelled by WhatsApp rumours about thieves operating in the area and the group of villagers had mistaken the three passengers as thieves and killed them. Several policemen who intervened were also attacked and injured.
• Similarly Hate Speech on Social Media had a big role in the Delhi Riots of 2020.

Fake News

• A 2019 Microsoft study found that over 64% of Indians encounter fake news online, the highest reported amongst the 22 countries surveyed.
• There are a staggering number of edited images, manipulated videos and fake text messages spreading through social media platforms and messaging services like WhatsApp making it harder to distinguish between misinformation and credible facts.

Online Trolling

• Trolling is the new bi product of Social Media.
• Vigilantes take law in their own hand and start trolling and threatening those who don’t agree with their views or narratives.
• It has led to anonymous trolls who attack the reputation of an individual.

Women Safety

• Women face cyber rape and threats that affect their dignity severely.
• Sometimes their pictures and videos are leaked with and are forced to cyber bullying

Road Ahead

• There are several shades to this but few things which are very-2 clear is that all companies all social media platforms will have to adhere the rule of law and there is no ambiguity on them. There are specific rules which deal with all kind of situation and we as a citizen  werealso fulfil our responsibility and ensure that we do not indulge in any kind of sensational hashtags and misinformation campaigns on social media.