Future India Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization. The organization has conducted a discussion among a group of Indian youngsters. The discussion main aim is to know the social media habits of the users. It also plans to understand the impact of misinformation on users. The report is titled “Politics of Disinformation.”
Majority users
The study revealed over 70 percent of social media users in India are below 65 years of age. This makes up to nearly 65 percent of total Indian Population.
Founder of the organization
The Co-founder and Director of Future India Foundation is Ms. Ruchi Gupta. After the study she reported that the main problem lies with the understanding of the users, but not misinformation. The users have customized themselves to the information without bothering with the absolute facts.
Key points of the study
According to the study, there is a large flow of misinformation through social media. Consequently, communities have divided. Therefore, causing confusion among the people and distorting the foundation of truth. This led to political alienation.
The study reported that the information is generally shared among affiliates who have common interests. The receiver will never bother to check the liability of the information.
The study pointed out the misinformation commonly focuses on pieces of content. It never views on broad political context. This gives a scope to political organization representatives. These representatives add a few more layers to the actual truth.
Ruchi Gupta added “This framework suits social media platforms but is adjunct to the core issue of misinformation, which is distribution”.
Social Media’s role
The report also commented on the social media’s role in spread of misinformation. The social media platforms either delete or block some content on request of users. This also plays a major role in stopping the users from knowing real facts sometimes.
“The challenge of disseminating authoritative information to successfully counter misinformation is often a bigger challenge than the fact-checking itself,” said the report.
Law of transparency
Summing up, misinformation always existed, but, it is amplified through social media. The study recommended introducing a Law of transparency for social media platforms. The social media platforms should team with a regulator under parliamentary supervision to keep the amplifying misinformation in check.
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