Impact of Social Media on Indian Politics after Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Indian politics, particularly regarding the role of social media. This research paper explores the effects of social media on Indian politics in the post-pandemic era. It examines how social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp have become essential tools for political communication, citizen engagement, and electoral campaigns. The paper discusses the positive aspects of social media, such as direct connectivity between politicians and constituents, increased citizen participation, and the amplification of marginalized voices. However, it also addresses challenges, including the spread of misinformation, privacy concerns, and algorithmic biases. The literature review studies political mobilization, polarization, electoral campaigns, privacy, and data security. Overall, this research aims to provide insights into the multifaceted impact of social media on Indian politics after the COVID-19 pandemic and identify opportunities to leverage these platforms effectively while mitigating risks

Grassroots Campaign in Technology-Enabled Elections: Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram in 2019 Indian Elections

As a critical site of democratic action, grassroots electoral campaigning is undergoing a transition with the influence of internet affordances in the political mobilizational areas of narrative building, campaign management, data collection and analysis. Through an ethnographic study conducted in Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram during the months prior to the 2019 Indian Parliamentary Elections, the study attempts to map the technology adoption among political workers, in relation to their party/leaders, voters, and other stakeholders in the electoral landscape. Using the typology presented in the new repertoire of social movement action, the authors categorize internet-based and internet-supported campaigning tools, according to the threshold of risk and effort involved in undertaking the activities. Illustrating with perspectives from the grassroots political agents, the paper aspires to extend the literature related to digital political mobilization and contribute to the study of democratic systems

A National Bilingual Education Policy for the Economic and Academic Empowerment of Youth in St. Lucia, West Indies

This campaign portfolio argues the case for a national bilingual education policy on the island of St. Lucia, where youth speak both St Lucian Creole and St. Lucian standard English. The portfolio consists of a policy paper and brief, an advocacy plan, a communications plan, monitoring and evaluation plan. The Bilingual Education Taskforce (BET), made up of teachers, parents and principals, is an advocacy organization that discovered the need for a bilingual education intervention when they observed, assessed and analyzed the written work of struggling readers at their school, the Anse la Raye Infant School on the west coast of St. Lucia. They also analyzed the issues of youth unemployment, youth drop-out rates and low tertiary education enrollment. A pattern began to emerge that illustrated a struggling reader’s path through the education system. Consistent low academic achievement in the area of English Language Arts (ELA) was found at each academic level, infant, primary, and secondary. Scores on compulsory national ELA exams upon completion of secondary school consistently showed stagnant progress among secondary youth. Youth must score at least a grade of I, II, or III to be considered for tertiary education and since many did not score well, they were not afforded an opportunity to earn a tertiary level education. The problem with low tertiary enrollments is directly linked to employment opportunities and long term economic prosperity for youth. Without at least a tertiary, associate’s education, youth are at a disadvantage, often remaining under- or unemployed. This portfolio policy plan advocates for bilingual education at the primary and secondary level as an intervention for improving learning outcomes of St. Lucian bilingual youth who need early support in language development. Keywords: education policy, bilingualism, bilingual education, Eastern Caribbean, Creole, St. Lucia, linguistics, socio-linguistics, speech, cognition, language acquisitio

YouTube Influencer: How Source Credibility and Information Quality Influence Destination Image and Visit Intention of Young Travelers?

This study aims to analyze the effects of YouTube influencers� source credibility and the information quality of the platform on destination image and young travellers� intention to visit a destination. Stimulus-organism- response (SOR) theory was adopted to develop the tested research model. This study applied a quantitative approach where primary data was collected through online surveys to 198 YouTube subscribers who had watched the examined YouTube channels� content. The PLS-SEM technique was utilized to assess the structural model in the study. The results of this study show that source credibility had a significant positive effect on information quality, destination image, and visit intention. The information quality positively affected destination image but did not directly impact the visit intention. Furthermore, the destination image significantly mediates the effect of source credibility and information quality on visit intention. This study enriches the literature on the relationships among source credibility, information quality, and how these credibility and information quality could influence the destination image and young travellers� intention to visit a destination in an emerging country like Indonesia

Polarisation and politicisation: the social media strategies of Indian political parties

Ahead of the general election in April and May 2019, Indian political parties are using social media aggressively to propagate their ideology, mobilise public opinion, set policy agendas, and discredit detractors. Since the 2014 general election, India's two major political parties -the Bharatiya Janata Party, which currently leads the coalition government, and the Indian National Congress, the main opposition party- have invested heavily in digital political campaigning. Political parties use social media to directly and continuously engage with voters. More so than traditional media, social media can amplify and mobilise political opinions and reach out to even the remotest geographical areas. Social media's unique value is that it allows for both mass messaging and micro-targeting. Bolstered by grass-roots campaigning, it is immensely powerful in moulding public opinion both in India and beyond. While facilitating civic engagement for a more participatory democracy, social media is also misused for propaganda, hate speech, and disinformation campaigns, which can undermine the pluralistic foundations of Indian democracy. Today, successful political campaigns rest on the innovative employment of social media, a trend that has made voters increasingly invested in politics and parties. But it has also provided grist for political polarisation, particularly in heterogeneous societies such as India. Given this scenario, foreign policy observers should prepare for a more politicised and domestically contested conducting of Indian foreign affairs in future

Electoral Campaigns, Media, and the New World of Digital Politics

Today, political leaders and candidates for office must campaign in a multimedia world through traditional forums—newspapers, radio, and television—as well as new digital media, particularly social media. Electoral Campaigns, Media, and the New World of Digital Politics chronicles how Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, email, and memes are used successfully and unsuccessfully to influence elections. Each of these platforms have different affordances and reach various audiences in different ways. Campaigns often have to wage different campaigns on each of these mediums. In some instances, they are crucial in altering coverage in the mainstream media. In others, digital media remains underutilized and undeveloped. As has always been the case in politics, outcomes that depend on economic and social conditions often dictate people’s readiness for certain messages. However, the method and content of those messages has changed with great consequences for the health and future of democracy. This book answers several questions: How do candidates/parties reach audiences that are preoccupied, inattentive, amorphous, and bombarded with so many other messages? How do they cope with the speed of media reporting in a continuous news cycle that demands instantaneous responses? How has media fragmentation altered the campaign styles and content of campaign communication, and general campaign discourse? Finally and most critically, what does this mean for how democracies function

Electoral Campaigns, Media, and the New World of Digital Politics

Today, political leaders and candidates for office must campaign in a multimedia world through traditional forums—newspapers, radio, and television—as well as new digital media, particularly social media. Electoral Campaigns, Media, and the New World of Digital Politics chronicles how Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, email, and memes are used successfully and unsuccessfully to influence elections. Each of these platforms have different affordances and reach various audiences in different ways. Campaigns often have to wage different campaigns on each of these mediums. In some instances, they are crucial in altering coverage in the mainstream media. In others, digital media remains underutilized and undeveloped. As has always been the case in politics, outcomes that depend on economic and social conditions often dictate people’s readiness for certain messages. However, the method and content of those messages has changed with great consequences for the health and future of democracy. This book answers several questions: How do candidates/parties reach audiences that are preoccupied, inattentive, amorphous, and bombarded with so many other messages? How do they cope with the speed of media reporting in a continuous news cycle that demands instantaneous responses? How has media fragmentation altered the campaign styles and content of campaign communication, and general campaign discourse? Finally and most critically, what does this mean for how democracies function