https://sputniknews.in/20241228/digital-colonialism-how-us-backed-online-forums-manipulate-political-opinion-8613210.html
Digital Colonialism: How US-Backed Online Forums Manipulate Political Opinion
Digital Colonialism: How US-Backed Online Forums Manipulate Political Opinion
Sputnik India
Digital Colonialism: How US-backed Online Forums are Manipulating Political Opinions In Pakistan?
2024-12-28T20:47+0530
2024-12-28T20:47+0530
2024-12-28T20:58+0530
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Experts say, this this trend, sometimes referred to as “digital colonialism,” in which large tech firms exercise their hegemonic over the political and social structures of other nations, coining it as “neo-imperialism”.US-backed social media platforms have unprecedented power to shape peoples’ belief systems. Tech giants like Meta,* Twitter (X), YouTube, and Facebook* hold considerable clout over the politics of South Asian countries, particularly Pakistan, a media and data analyst at Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) group and associate with the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), Hamna Obaid Khokher, told Sputnik India.Unbeknownst to the consumers, big tech corporations also gather enormous amounts of data that can be used for surveillance and to change behavior patterns, she expressed. This information can be taken advantage of to target people with certain messages, sway their beliefs, and generate strong emotions and disturbance, the analyst emphasised.These digital channels controlled by the West are crucial in swaying public opinion and igniting instability in developing countries like Pakistan.The prevalence of Western digital platforms can also result in a kind of neo-imperialism when Western norms and ideals are imposed on countries such as Pakistan, destroying indigenous cultures and customs. This has serious implications as young minds, who will shape the policies in the future, are most affected by propaganda generated by these platforms, she underscored. there are problems with, for example, Meta's methodology of monitoring fake news. They do not allow politicians to be flagged online, which, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of monitoring misinformation altogether, as political misinformation constitutes the largest percentage of it.Meanwhile, there are problems with Meta's methodology of monitoring fake news, Areeba Fatima, a senior fact-checker, investigative reporter, and anchor with BOL News, told Sputnik India. The platform does not allow politicians to be flagged online, which, she argued, defeats the purpose of monitoring misinformation altogether, as political misinformation constitutes the largest percentage of it.She mentioned that she had also published an investigative report on how an internal Dangerous Individuals and Organisations (DOI) list from Meta, when leaked and analysed on the platform, shows a lack of willingness to moderate hate speech and those flagged.Countries like Pakistan will ban any social media platform that does not surrender to them in some way or another and allows them to remove accounts that display any level of dissent or criticise the state, the reporter suggested.* Meta banned in Russia as extremist organisation
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digital colonialism, us big-tech, social media, political manipulation
digital colonialism, us big-tech, social media, political manipulation
Digital Colonialism: How US-Backed Online Forums Manipulate Political Opinion
20:47 28.12.2024 (Updated: 20:58 28.12.2024) During the Obama administration, the US launched a digital program abroad focused on politics. Sputnik India examines how American tech giants like X (formerly Twitter) and Meta* use their platforms to influence political dynamics in South Asia.
Experts say, this this trend, sometimes referred to as “
digital colonialism,”
in which large tech firms exercise their hegemonic over the political and social structures of other nations, coining it as “neo-imperialism”.
US-backed social media platforms have unprecedented power to shape peoples’ belief systems. Tech giants like Meta,* Twitter (X), YouTube, and Facebook* hold considerable
clout over the politics of South Asian countries, particularly Pakistan, a media and data analyst at Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) group and associate with the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS),
Hamna Obaid Khokher, told
Sputnik India.
“Apart from just being tools for communication; these platforms are compelling instruments that aid in shaping political landscapes and general perceptions of even a layman. A very recent example is the propaganda generated right after the protest calls of PTI at the end of November 2024 in Islamabad. The targeted allegations against the Pakistan Army created much chaos in the capital city, fostering unrest among civil-military sectors which projected a negative image of the state worldwide,” Khokher underlined.
Unbeknownst to the consumers, big tech corporations also gather enormous amounts of data that can be used for surveillance and to change behavior patterns, she expressed. This information can be taken advantage of to target people with certain messages, sway their beliefs, and generate strong emotions and disturbance, the analyst emphasised.
These digital channels controlled by the West are crucial in swaying public opinion and igniting instability in
developing countries like Pakistan.
The prevalence of Western digital platforms can also result in a kind of neo-imperialism when Western norms and ideals are imposed on countries such as Pakistan, destroying indigenous cultures and customs. This has serious implications as young minds, who will shape the policies in the future, are most affected by propaganda generated by these platforms, she underscored.
there are problems with, for example, Meta's methodology of monitoring fake news. They do not allow politicians to be flagged online, which, in my opinion, defeats the purpose of monitoring misinformation altogether, as political misinformation constitutes the largest percentage of it.
Meanwhile, there are problems with Meta's methodology of monitoring fake news, Areeba Fatima, a senior fact-checker, investigative reporter, and anchor with BOL News, told Sputnik India. The platform does not allow politicians to be flagged online, which, she argued, defeats the purpose of monitoring misinformation altogether, as political misinformation constitutes the largest percentage of it.
She mentioned that she had also published an investigative report on how an internal Dangerous Individuals and Organisations (DOI) list from Meta, when leaked and analysed on the platform, shows a lack of willingness to moderate hate speech and those flagged.
"I believe that, to some extent, they try to work with the government to prevent their services from being suspended. Currently, X (former Twitter) is banned in Pakistan and has been since February 17 — shortly after the general election was labeled rigged and stolen. This was done to stifle discourse and block information from leaving," Fatima said.
Countries like Pakistan will ban any social media platform that does not surrender to them in some way or another and allows them to remove accounts that display any level of dissent or criticise the state, the reporter suggested.
"I think you could say that American imperialism is an ever-evolving mechanism of control that expands everywhere, including digitally," she summed up.
* Meta banned in Russia as extremist organisation
