Does Congress have a plan to effectively tackle fake news, hatemongering?

The motive of the Right-wing fake news peddlers is to malign the Congress rule in Karnataka, dub it anti-Hindu, and create a fear psychosis throughout India

The Congress secured an emphatic win in Karnataka despite a powerful, vitriolic campaign led by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda. It managed to hold on to the advantage that it had crafted skilfully by painting the Basavaraj Bommai government as a ’40 percent government’, and pitching hard for local issues along with five guarantees even when the troika of Modi, Shah, and Nadda looked all set to run away with elections by lacing their speeches with war cries of ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ and painting a frightening future through 'The Kerala Story’, and a misplaced sovereignty jibe.

Post-victory, the Congress skilfully usurped Hanuman (Bajrangbali) as the mascot of their hard-earned victory leaving the BJP workers red-faced.

So far so good for the Congress. But the communal dangers that can mar its chances in the states that are going to the polls in the coming months and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have already started surfacing in the form of doctored videos on social media platforms painting Muslims as an emboldened lot after the Karnataka victory. The motive of the Right-wing fake news peddlers, apparently, is to malign the Congress rule in Karnataka, dub it anti-Hindu, and showcase it throughout India to create a fear psychosis, and spread hatred.

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One such doctored video from Belagavi, a district in southern Karnataka, surfaced on various social media platforms on May 13. It claimed that slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ were raised during BJP candidate Abhay Patil's rally. Before it was taken down from Instagram and YouTube shorts following Congress candidate Asif (Raju) Saith's complaint, the damage was already done. The downloaded video had circulated far and wide on WhatsApp and it was still there on Facebook at the time of writing this article. Close scrutiny revealed that the public was shouting ‘Asif Saith Zindabad’ in favour of the Congress candidate.

Another viral video surfaced from Bhatkal, in Karnataka. Posted after the Congress candidate's victory, it featured a man atop a structure hoisting and tying an Islamic flag next to a Hindu saffron flag. In a better time, it would have been dubbed as an example of communal harmony, but the video flagrantly claimed that upbeat after Congress' victory Muslims were unfurling Pakistan's national flag. Some television channels, like Zee News, displayed it in the prominent headline ‘Pakistan flag waved in Karnataka, VIDEO went viral after Congress victory’ on their website — of course with the disclaimer that ‘Zee News doesn't confirm this’ in the fine print.

The initial anonymous bursts were followed by official warnings. Smarting under a humiliating defeat in Karnataka, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma played the communal card in the poll-bound Telangana by raising the spectre of love jihad and madrassas promising to implement the Uniform Civil Code if voted to power.

The experience of the past decade shows that hate crimes and cases of hatemongering increase several folds during election time. The trajectory of the past few days makes it clear that Right-wing propaganda is going to become more vicious as India hurtles toward the 2024 general elections, and the Congress is going to be its main target. Unverified, fake, communal videos on social media emerging from Karnataka can mar the Congress’ chances in the Hindi heartland, which is already more communal than the south.

The danger warrants the Congress to pull up its socks and take actions on various fronts. The Congress can change the tide by taking proactive steps on the ground that include making peace committees at the mohalla, village, and taluka level in sensitive areas, especially in the south and coastal regions of Karnataka, and acting against all elements that show a belligerent attitude against the other religion without favour or prejudice.

A technologically-robust cyber department that can specifically tackle hate speeches, videos, and posts by pinpointing their origin to promptly catch the miscreants can go a long way in arresting the menace. It might seem to be a long shot but Prabhat Pheris (Morning Marches) and jalsas (public festivals) spreading communal harmony and that the Congress of the yore used to take out can be a good addition.

Besides, the Congress will have to think more out of the box solutions if it wants to carry forward Rahul Gandhi's slogan ‘Nafrat ke Bazaar Band Kar, Mohabbat Ki Dukaan Kholni Hai’. The sooner the Congress does it the better.

(Manan Kumar is a Delhi-based journalist)

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH)