Traditional electronic media in India has historically been dominated by a group of select elites, result of a perpetual quid pro quo within the industry and the Indian government, which prevented people with an unbiased and independent view to contribute to major part of the news. However, with the advent of social media, the monopoly held by these elite packs was soon dissipated to millions of Indians voicing their opinions through several platforms.
The 2014 general elections saw the huge impact of these newly empowered individuals, who not only voiced their opinions on a mass scale but also debunked the agenda driven narratives which were perpetually being fed to through electronic media. This new found empowerment brought together millions of people who had for a long time led astray to believe that the repository of truth and intellect remained confined to a few media groups and their editors.
Loss of monopoly over media didn’t go down well with the elite groups who have now employed a different strategy, to discredit these online communities. Usage of proxies with ulterior motives to target these communities which are followed by millions of Indians seems to be the new strategy employed by these elites and their overlords.
Nation with Namo, a Facebook page which was part of this new age digital shift and followed by more than a million people, was targeted by some digital platforms which alleged the page to be biased and propagating false news. Simple scrutiny of the page gives other indications.
These social media pages by allowing alternative views to the pseudo-liberal media, which has been an unfair and staunch critique of Narendra Modi and an ardent supporter of Rahul Gandhi, is not going down well with the ecosystem created by the media itself over the past decades. The Quint, which has been a consistently denigrating Narendra Modi and his supporters, in a similar attempt, has targeted few social media pages which have been challenging the status quo, based on a report.
One such Facebook page in the crosshair of these so-called ‘flag bearers of truth’ is ‘Nation with Namo’. Nation with Namo is a Facebook page which enjoys the support of over a million followers has been majorly sharing the development works which has been taking place throughout the nation. The Quint has claimed that nation with Namo and other similar pages are not neutral and propagate false news.
The point made on neutrality stands demolished without any deep thought as the page itself is named ‘Nation with Namo’ which clearly indicates its support for current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, so claiming this page to be biased is just a meek attempt to misguide the discussion.
This video posted by Nation with Namo is simply a compilation of headlines in different media outlets regarding PM Narendra Modi’s tenure. In another post which tells about India overtaking China becoming the biggest Rail Coach builder in the world is based on a news report, which is clearly cited in the comments.
In another post related to Indian passport improving on Global power index, the source is also clearly given in the comments.
All these posts reach to millions of people over Facebook. Is that what scares the pseudo-liberal establishment the most? The country has been under the influence of these so-called ‘independent media houses’ for too long. This is just another attempt to regaining their rapidly evaporating credibility, by blaming the challenger. The emergence of bold and public supported platforms like ‘Nation with Namo’ is the beginning of a new age when the monopoly of India’s narrative will be shifted from hands of a few elites to 1.3 billion Indians.