Growing Influence of Digital Campaigning in Indian Elections
Both the BJP and Congress are heavily investing in digital ads, with significant portions of their propaganda budgets allocated to platforms like Google and Meta.
Parties, especially the BJP, use micro-targeting to reach specific pin codes and demographics, demonstrating the precision of digital campaigning.
Third-party entities are also heavily involved, spending substantial amounts on digital ads, which often include controversial or inflammatory content.
Potential Benefits and Emerging Challenges
Benefits:
Digital platforms enable campaigns to reach a vast audience quickly, engaging voters more effectively
Micro-targeting allows for highly personalized and strategic messaging, potentially improving voter persuasion.
Challenges:
Significant differences in digital ad spending create an uneven playing field, giving wealthier parties a major advantage.
The rise of third-party campaigners has led to concerns over the spread of misleading and inflammatory content, which can distort public perception and democratic discourse.
Current regulations do not adequately address the new challenges posed by digital campaigning, such as transparency in ad spending and content monitoring.
Way Forward
Introduce segmented caps on digital ad spending to ensure fair competition and prevent disproportionate influence by wealthier parties.
Implement strict reporting requirements and audits for third-party campaigners, ensuring that their activities are transparent and ethical.
Develop and enforce consistent regulatory frameworks across different digital platforms to address problematic content and ensure accountability.
Adapt existing laws to better address the nuances of digital campaigning, incorporating insights from international practices to strengthen democratic integrity.
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