It was early March, 2014, andIndia was buzzing with activities that often precede a parliamentary election of this magnitude, in the world’s largest democracy.
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, a whistle-blowing website, put out a statement refuting claims of an unlikely endorsement of Narendra Modi, then prime ministerial candidate and the eventual frontrunner.
The statement was issued after several infographics were shared across social media with fake quotes, attributed to Assange, praising Modi.
The internet not only helped bring in the young voters, but also sway their favourability towards the running candidates.
However, this relatively cheap and, in many ways, revolutionary platform also created a whirlpool of misinformation that continues to create unwelcome ripples across the nation.
During the elections, Modi’s campaign managers had invested themselves heavily into tapping this medium to set the narrative towards an incontrovertible win.
Read full story on Al Jazeera English
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