Warning to social media users amid political unrest
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: February 13, 2025 -

AS BJP's northeast-in-charge Sambit Patra continues to engage in talks with party's state legislators in order to shortlist probable candidates for taking over the charge as the chief minister, keyboard warriors seem to be having a field day through uploading of speculative posts centred on the successor of N Biren Singh.

Among the opinions shared on their social media accounts vis-a-vis the political uncertainty dogging the state after the resignation of N Biren as the chief minister, the prospect of imposition of the President's Rule has been causing notable anxiety among the state's masses as many are apprehensive that formal dismissal of the government would result ih security forces exercising unbridled powers and resort to rampant harassment, to put in mildly, of the general population.

Apparently sensing that social media users and influencers have been nonchalantly uploading sensitive but misleading information, chief secretary PK Singh has advised all the citizens to remain calm and not fall prey to unverified news, rumours or misinformation that may cause unnecessary panic or disrupt peace and harmony in the state.

Underscoring that maintaining the rule of law is of paramount importance to contain escalation of tension and occurrence of unwanted incidents amid the challenging situation besieging Manipur, the chief secretary, in a statement issued Tuesday, confirmed that the government has taken note of certain unscrupulous individuals and groups who/which may deliberately attempt to incite unrest, disrupt harmony and spread fear among the public using false information, inflammatory contents or fabricated narratives. Categorically censuring all attempts aimed at creating lawlessness, PK Singh has called upon the public not to give heed to any misinformation or incitement.

Contrary to advent of social networking sites aiding individuals and organisations to share and exchange information at rapid pace when compared to the traditional methods, in Manipur occurrence of any unwanted incidents and sensitive issues, majority of the social media users rely on hearsays to upload their posts, thereby diluting effectiveness of such a public platform in transforming the way information is shared among people.

While it's an undeniable fact that social media plays an important role in updating the masses on happenings across and even promoting good governance by encouraging participation of the citizens in decision-making, rumours spreading like wildfire amid the political uncertainty gripping Manipur testify misuse of the advantage of social media as a powerful tool for empowerment.

Thus, to ensure that people receive accurate information, the chief secretary has advised the concerned citizens to verify any news or information they come across or have been fed with to access the government's control room (9485280419), which is operational round-the-clock. Noting dissemination of misinformation on the social media as one of the greatest challenges for the government, and possible breach of privacy guidelines, name-calling, harassment, humiliation, threats, fraud, etc., the chief secretary has cautioned that any attempt to incite violence or disrupt harmony will be dealt with strictly as per the law.

Therefore, taking into account of social media serving as a means of interaction between people through which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas, the government should assert its presence and round up recalcitrant keyboard warriors, in case he/she continues to defy the call for judicious and purposeful use of the public platform.