Skip to content In today’s day, social media has become one of the most powerful forces shaping political communication and behaviour in India. Just in the last decade, social media has changed Indian politics more than any other communication technology since the television. With over 600 million smartphone users and one of the cheapest mobile data services in the world, India’s political sphere has quickly expanded onto platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter (now X). This digital shift has transformed not only the way parties campaign, but also how citizens debate and participate in politics. The intersection of India’s diverse demographic and high levels of online engagement makes it a unique case study. This article tries to explore four core dimensions of this transformation: digital campaigning, misinformation, algorithmic polarisation, and online social movements.
Political parties in India now treat social media as a core electoral weapon. Over the 2010s, organised digital operations often referred to as “IT cells” have evolved into professional teams that produce content, manage influencers, and track online sentiment. The BJP pioneered highly structured digital strategies during the 2014 election cycle, using social media to bypass traditional news outlets and speak directly to voters. Parties, including the Congress, AAP, TMC, DMK and other regional outfits quickly followed. WhatsApp plays a particularly significant role due to its deep penetration across urban and rural India. Local WhatsApp groups operate as information pipelines for slogans, videos, and targeted narratives. Social media has enabled politicians to reach voters quickly and cheaply with tailored messages, changing the pace and nature of campaign communication.
Misinformation has become one of if not the most troubling consequence of India’s social media boom. Encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp make it difficult to trace the origins of political rumours, communal narratives, and misleading videos. Additionally, these messages often spread through trusted social networks like family groups and neighbourhood circles, giving them credibility in a naive readers’ eyes even when they are factually incorrect. Election periods particularly intensify the spread of doctored videos, edited speeches, or sensational communal rumours that influence voter perceptions. India’s linguistic diversity further complicates fact-checking efforts, as misinformation can spread in dozens of regional languages faster than any verification systems can respond. Importantly, misinformation tends to reinforce pre-existing political identities, making it emotionally backed and difficult to effectively counter.
Platforms like Facebook and YouTube are designed to maximise engagement, often promoting content that triggers strong emotional reactions for a high click-through rate. Political figures exploit this by producing provocative or polarising material that benefits from the structure of these algorithms. Hyper-partisan pages, meme factories, and ideological channels have flourished in the past few years as a result. In fact, in the 2024 election cycle, official political pages were also seen posting engagement driven meme content. Younger voters, many of whom consume politics primarily through short form content like reels are particularly influenced by this environment. While digital spaces offer access to a range of diverse perspectives, they also create echo chambers that deepen divides along religious, ideological and regional lines. Social media does not simply reflect India’s political polarisation, but its algorithmic structure further intensifies it.
Social media has also empowered citizens and movements outside formal politics. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, farmers’ protests and various student movements all relied heavily on online platforms for visibility. Activists use social media to update and document events, mobilise supporters, and challenge official narratives. Yet these spaces are also plagued by rampant harassment and trolling especially for women and marginalised groups. Internet shutdowns like the ones in Manipur frequently used during protests reflect the tensions between digital outrage and state authority. Even so, social media has enabled forms of participation that would have been impossible through traditional channels.
The advent of AI is making many of these problems much worse. Cheap AI tools allow agitators to create fake videos, quotes, and news that spreads faster than fact-checkers can keep up with. During protests or elections periods even a single deepfake can provoke tensions or fuel rumours that go viral before being properly verified. While on the other side, governments and platforms are leaning heavily towards automated AI moderation. These systems often don’t understand context and end up taking down genuine content while missing actual hate speech. All of this combined with shutdowns and strict takedown notices can make the space extremely censored and confusing, making it even more chaotic and harder for ordinary people to trust.
Overall social media has deeply transformed Indian politics, enabling rapid communication, mass participation, and new forms of public engagement. Yet it also amplifies misinformation, polarisation, and is an extremely accessible channel for hate. The future of digital democracy in India will depend on how political culture, platforms, and regulation evolve together.
Head of Think Tank
