Mass Media And Election

Why in the News? 

Taking the note of misuse of social media, (a type of mass media) by political parties during the election campaign the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued guidelines for the ethical use of social media platforms.

Key highlights of the guidelines 

• The ECI directed parties to not:
  • publish content that is false, misleading, or derogatory, especially towards women, 
  • not use social media platforms to carry any content which use children in any political campaigning
  • depict violence or harm to animals. 
  • not impersonate another person, including political parties or their representatives on a social media platform
• It also mandated Political parties to: 
  • remove any violating content within three hours of notification and warn the responsible members, 
  • report any unlawful information and fake user accounts to the respective social media platforms, 
  • and escalate unresolved issues to the Grievance Appellate Committee as outlined in Rule 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

About Mass Media 

• Mass Media refers to diverse communication channels that transmit information and entertainment content to a large audience. 
• It includes print media (Newspapers, Magazines, Books), electronic media (Radio, Television, Films), and digital media (Internet, social media).
• It is also termed the Fourth Estate of a democratic country, the other three pillars being: the Legislature or the Parliament; the Executive; and the Judiciary
• The fundamental right of ‘Freedom of Speech and Expression’ granted to Citizens under Article 19(1)(a) of the constitution is also available to the press. 

Role of the Mass Media in the Election Process 

• Emphasizing Election Importance: Media coverage underscores the significance of elections, highlighting voter choice, the need to be informed, and the fundamental right to vote. 
  • This fosters faith in the electoral process and encourages citizen participation.
• Dissemination of Campaign Information: Media spreads campaign propaganda widely, providing politicians with affordable advertising space and quickly reach a large audience. 
  • Recognised political parties have been allowed to freely use state-owned television and radio during polls since the 1998 Lok Sabha elections (refer to the box). 
• Influencing Voter Behavior: Media arouses interest, reduces apathy, and instils a sense of civic duty by emphasizing the importance of every vote and the Right to Vote. 
• Shaping the Public Image of Candidates: Media portrayal greatly impacts a candidate's public image. Newspaper, magazine coverage, and broadcasts can either help or harm them.
• Effective messaging: It ensures politicians maintain consistent messages, preventing them from saying different things to different audiences.
• Facilitating Policy Discussion: Mass media informs the public about government actions, highlights policy shortcomings, and communicates public expectations to politicians, facilitating a two-way discussion on both current and future policies.

Challenges posed by mass media to election process

Mass media with all its positive implications also pose challenges to a free and fair election process when it is not objective and its reporting are selective and biased (a phenomenon known as media gatekeeping). 

With the rapid and widespread dissemination of information on social media, these challenges are magnified. Some key challenges to election process posed by social media are as follows: 

• Threat to Sovereignty: social media can be manipulated by anyone, inside or outside the country, to target specific parties or candidates, compromising the democratic process as well as the Sovereignty of the country. 
  • For example, during the 2016 US presidential elections, Russia allegedly used social media to manipulate the outcome. 
• Misinformation: Social media is a breeding ground for misinformation and manipulated content, distorting public perception and influencing voter behavior.
  • AI-generated deepfakes complicate the issue, making it hard to distinguish real information from fake, disrupting election integrity.
• Sensationalisation: Social media algorithms amplify viral content, overshadowing factual narratives and quickly setting political narratives.
  • Many YouTube-based independent content creators run online-only news channels, bypassing traditional media regulations. 
    • They set narratives through the sensationalisation of issues and manipulation for more views. It may result in the marginalisation of more important issues from public discussion. 
• Online Echo Chambers: Social media can create echo chambers, where individuals only encounter viewpoints aligning with their own, resulting in confirmation bias where people are opposed to diverse perspectives.
  • It may worsen societal divisions leading to polarization. For instance, Facebook's failure to address platform abuse in Sri Lanka reportedly fueled widespread violence in 2018.
• Compromising Model Code of Conduct: The lack of effective regulation on social media platforms makes it challenging to enforce the code of conduct for parties and candidates. 
  • Also, regulating content on encrypted platforms like WhatsApp is currently not feasible. 
• Privacy Concerns and threat to voter’s objective opinion: Voters lack control over data collection. They're often profiled by social media, impacting their feed content which may potentially change their behaviour. 
  • In 2018, several Indian political parties allegedly hired Cambridge Analytica, a data mining and analytics business. 

Way ahead for mitigating the adverse impact of Mass Media on Indian elections

Mass media should be nudged to follow the advisories of Press Council of India that called for Press to give objective reports about elections and the candidates, eschew reports which tend to promote feelings of enmity or hatred, observe all the directions/ orders/instructions of the Election Commission/Returning Officers or Chief Electoral Officer, etc. 

In addition to these, following steps should also be taken to prevent the abuse of mass media during election: 

• Effective Implementation of Voluntary Code of Ethics: Ensure strict adherence to the Voluntary Code of Ethics for the General Elections 2019, aimed at promoting responsible behaviour on social media platforms during elections. 
• Enhance Social Media Monitoring: Increase cooperation and exchange of information among stakeholders involved in social media monitoring. 
  • Strengthen links between civil society groups and internet platforms to facilitate the timely raising of concerns and consideration of findings by platforms. 
• Foster International Cooperation: Compare best practices globally and foster networks to share lessons learned and insights gained after elections. 
  • Collaborate with other countries to develop effective strategies for mitigating the adverse impact of social media on elections.
• Strengthen Data Protection Framework: As India's voting process becomes more modern in terms of data utilisation, enhance the data protection framework to adapt to different levels of data usage.
  • Ensure that voter data is protected and used responsibly to maintain the integrity of the electoral process.

Role of Social Media in Election Social media differs from traditional mass media in terms of scale and speed of communication. Social media revolutionizes politics by instantly transmitting messages to global audiences. Existing Regulatory Frame for Social Media  Information Technology Act, 2000 governs all areas of electronic communication, including social media.  Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Regulations, 2021 for ensuring accountability of social media and other intermediaries.