RT If You Agree - Part 2

If you haven’t read Part-1 yet, I recommend you do. Story so far: Shashi Tharoor (ST) appointed Captain of the Light Brigade that will charge the Social Media (SM). He will be assisted by a team of 35 and other TwitterNREGA enrolments. There will be some celebrities according to the Indian Express report that I mentioned in part-1. Nice! So it mentions they will enrol Shabana Azmi. Huh? No comments. They will also enrol Shahrukh Khan. SRK? This guy agreed to be the Brand Ambassador for Bengal in February 2012. Any idea what he accomplished in that role? He was to do for Bengal what Amitabh Bachchan does for Gujarat. I guess we will have to wait and watch. There’s another problem though. Latest reports state that SRK has already quit Twitter over various controversies. Like I said, since the Captain was appointed it has been downhill. Never pin your hopes on a negatively controversial celebrity who is easy to pick on in a platform like SM. Even as the Congress TwitterNREGA gets underway SRK is embroiled in another controversy concerning IIPM.

A new recruit who is currently making comic waves on Twitter had a very innocent question to ask with this tweet. As a practice I black out names of private individuals and so no names will appear in certain tweets. While people had a good laugh over this comic question, it’s actually a very important question by a Congress supporter. Yeah, where is Rahul Gandhi? Why is he not on Twitter? Is he scared? Considering he is the ‘great white hope’ of the youth for the Congress how come the prince doesn’t find it necessary to be on SM but heads the SM committee? It’s not just RahulG. Where are people like Jyoti Scindia, Sachin Pilot and all the youth gang from Congress? Are they scared of facing the public too? Why does Congress have to recruit volunteers through Ministry of I&B and end up with people who are either comic or totally blank on issues?

Consider this: If the Congress doesn’t get positive reviews or tweets, the least they could do is request their staunchest supporters to stop tweeting idiotic stuff. But the party seems to like it. ST follows these supporters and makes sure they are emboldened to create even more comedy and laughter on Twitter. How can anyone explain these 3 tweets by a very devoted Congress supporter on Twitter? Silly mistakes and gaffes are not unusual anywhere. But this is an example of a pathological streak of moronery that damages the Congress. And they seem to love it. The first tweet implies RahulG is son of Sanjay Gandhi by the Mahatma’s design. The second one says SoniaG was killed by terrorists. The last one claims a prediction of Shinde being targeted by Hindutva at Pune. Mind you, I stopped at three, there are plenty more. Now Mr. Tharoor, do you blame all of this on the right wing or propagandists that the Congress complains about? This is your own guy. Why does anyone else have to make any effort to lampoon Congress at all?

If all that comedy is of Congress’s own making the bad sign is that ST himself is on course to erode his own credibility and respect. The SM and thousands of its members have convincingly countered the lies and propaganda of the media all these years against Narendra Modi. He remains the greatest target for the Congress and the MSM. There is nothing Congress or channels like NDTV, CNN-IBN, IndiaToday group, Times Now won’t do to cause liberal damage to Modi and through him the story of Gujarat. In this campaign they have resorted to thousands of distortions, wanton manipulation of statistical figures and even outright lies. A single example of how the media (Business Standard & BBC in this case) distorts the Gujarat story would be enough to demonstrate my point. In May 2012 the BBC had picked up an article from the Business Standard and carried a story. In less than 24 hours the story was challenged and the both media outlets had to make corrections. Silly BBC even had to dramatically alter their headline itself. From asking if Gujarat is a red hot economy the headline changed to a confirmation that the state indeed is a red hot economy. Does that tell Mr. ST that the MSM may pass spurious nonsense as gospel but it won’t pass on SM? So who is in the propaganda business? The MSM or SM?

ST himself has now fallen to levels he had never imagined he would. In his quest to make a mark for the party on the SM and impress the High Command he has inadvertently become the MSM himself. He now tweets untruthful stuff about Narendra Modi. They already have NDTV, CNN-IBN, AajTak and ABPNews to do that, why should ST resort to such cheap tricks? This tweet of Tharoor will go down as one the most hilarious tweets of 2013. ST uses a 6-year old blogpost from Sulekha.Com (which is a Classified Ad specialist). The post is 6-years old and the data in the post is over a decade old when Modi wasn’t even CM. Was ST assigned to improve Congress image on SM or to generate more comedy like the party’s supporters have been already doing? But hey, keep going, no one is complaining. But in the instant that ST tweeted this he got immediate responses from the ‘Fact-checkers’ and here’s some of it:

And the hits kept coming throughout the day on March 15. The OneIndia news website quoted @Janlokpal with this mockery: “India's "Twitter Tendulkar"(that’s ST ) out for a duck”! But the best tweet lampooning ST’s misadventure was the one that said his account was probably hacked and Sanjay Jha was likely tweeting from it (although the handle mentioned is incorrect, the actual handle being @JhaSanjay). As Gargi Rawat of NDTV mentioned (see part-1) the SM is far ahead of MSM where speed is concerned and deals with facts and figures far more honestly. The problem is not Social Media, the problem is that the Congress leadership is totally out of touch with people. SoniaG, RahulG and MMS can only speak through written speeches. There is no warmth or spontaneity in their communication. And the comedy that RahulG and MMS provide when they speak is now legendary.  

Seriously, at the height of Delhi Gangrape protests MMS finally spoke to the nation on TV. What happened? I know it’s a blooper but finishing with a comic “Theek Hai” had the whole nation laughing for over 2 days and that term will forever be used as a sarcastic remark for all failures. Does that have anything to do with right-wing, Communalists, fascists or propaganda by anyone? That’s coming straight from Congress leadership. What can you do? MMS probably doesn’t himself tweet from @PMOIndia but a smart aleck who should be doing good for the PM sent out this moronic tweet on March 4. “There should be responsible dialogue and debate in parliament” it says. Really? Who is the PMO tweeting to? Kindergarten? And once again there is comic genius in abundance when the tweet is prefixed with “RT if you agree”. Naturally, people are going to pick up such comic stuff and enjoy it like a free party. The line has become a personal favourite of mine. (It appears the PMO has now deleted this comic tweet).

So the truth of the matter is that people don’t need to carry out an anti-Congress propaganda. The Congress leaders and their supporters cause the party enough damage on their own. This damage can only be undone by some work that demonstrates that Congress cares for all people and doesn’t hold the ordinary folks in contempt. For a start, the party and the Govt could repeal 66A and other such silly laws. RT if you agree! 

RT If You Agree - Part 1

You finish the day’s work. You walk back into your house. A handful of people there are mourning around a dead body. That dead body is YOURS. What are they saying? Are they saying good things about you or are they whispering bad things and saying this was a terrible man and it is good he died? If you want those mourners to say good things, you have the power to do those good things right now. That is the essence of the chapter ‘Begin with the end in mind’ from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits. Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) is most famous for inventing the Dynamite. He was also the owner of Bofors which is quite infamous in India. In 1888 a newspaper wrongly published news about his death and wrote his obituary. His obit was titled “The merchant of death is dead”. Hmmm! That sounds familiar? So you know where “Maut ka Saudagar” comes from now, right?

The only problem was that it wasn’t Alfred but his brother who had died but Alfred Nobel was shocked to find this is how people will remember him; as the “Dynamite man” or “Merchant of death”. It shocked him so much that he decided to do a few things different. When he returned home he assigned a huge part of his wealth to an endowment to honour people who have contributed to a better world. That’s now called the Nobel Prize. So Alfred is now remembered not for dynamite or as merchant of death but for the Nobel Prize. If you want people to talk good about you, then do good things. A lesson the Congress and the GOI don’t seem to ever learn.    

In January 2013 during the ‘Chintan Shivir’ at Jaipur the Congress decided they had fallen way behind on the Social Media (SM) and have to do something about it. They decided it would take an expense of 100 Crores to combat what they determined was “propaganda” on the SM. That’s starting on the wrong foot by itself. When you decide to “combat” something you are in “defence” mode and not in proactive mode. In a response to this campaign plan by the Congress I wrote a post “How To Buy Friends & Influence Elections”. Among other things, I had suggested people like Digvijaya Singh or Kapil Sibal are the wrong people to lead any campaign on the SM. I had suggested Shashi Tharoor, instead, would be the right man. He is admired by even those who don’t like the Congress party and he absorbs criticism quite well. Looks like the Congress listened and put the man in charge. But since then, it has been downhill.  

Even the soft-tweeting Gargi Rawat of NDTV couldn’t help noticing how far behind the Govt really is. Actually, she meant Congress when she said “Govt”. She tweeted about the Indian Express story that laid out the Congress plans. So the Congress, like Alfred Nobel, discovered people weren’t saying nice things about them. So they brand them “propagandists”. That’s the first mistake. So why aren’t people saying nice things about the Congress? Umm.. let’s see! Endless scams, attacks on women, Gangrapes, frequent terror attacks, misuse of 66A and other such laws, caning sleeping protesters at Ramlila, banning cartoons, arresting cartoonists, defence of all the misdeeds. Remember the classic Manish Tiwari statement? Here’s what he once said about protesters:  “.....consists of "armchair fascists, over-ground Maoists, closet anarchists...lurking behind forces of right reaction and funded by invisible donors whose links may go back a long way abroad".

If you describe your critics and opponents with such hatred and contempt you can’t expect to go back and make friends on the SM. Can you? And in the IE article the Congress notes that people like Manish Tiwari have become active on the SM. Welcome! The servantile MSM will absorb and pass such nonsense for sound-bites, the SM won’t. This same Manish Tiwari who is so brazen and contemptuous in the MSM is so scared of the SM that he has locked up his Twitter account when I last checked (@ManishTiwari08 – which appears to be his account). He’s the I&B Minister. Is this how he’s going to communicate with the general public?

Another tweet by the same Gargi Rawat is stunning. MoS RPN Singh claimed Narendra Modi lifted the line “secularism means India First” from his profile on Twitter. The SM was quick to expose the fake claim of RPN Singh in no time. Mr.RPN must realise that the SM is not his backyard called NDTV or CNN-IBN. Now are these SM guys propagandists and armchair fascists? Unlike the MSM where lies are peddled as news or gospel, these will be exposed very quickly on the SM. So if people like RPN Singh are going to dish out silly stuff, the SM will be unkind and not drool like NDTV. This is the difficulty for the Congress which is long used to a slavish MSM which will bend, crawl and fall at its feet anytime. But I did point out to Gargi that it’s not just that people are ahead of the Congress in terms of online space but that they are far ahead in putting out facts and truth. Facts and truth are now largely incompatible with the MSM. 

People opposed to the Congress were blanked out from the MSM. For long they didn’t have a voice in the establishment. Technology sets the truth free as well. All the lies of MSM are now being exposed on a daily basis by people on the SM. Unfortunately, because Congress happens to be the GOI and MSM their slave, they are facing the brunt of these exposes. The other thing that the Congress overlooks is far more serious. They forget that among the large population on SM there are people who are far more educated, far more knowledgeable. They can any day beat the likes of campaigners like Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghose, Ashutosh, Nikhil Wagle and many more with their sheer knowledge and capabilities in articulating their arguments and articles spectacularly. I can name more than a dozen sites that are far superior to MSM propagandists any time.

The problem for the Congress also is that even the 100Crs, which is being jokingly called #TwitterNREGA, cannot buy these people. They may get hired hands but not the knowledge required to separate facts from fiction. This is the tough challenge that Shashi Tharoor faces. Thus, the newly joined campaigners for Congress on Twitter create far more comedy than any genuine communication. Congress has a plan to mass-RT anything that their leaders or campaigners tweet. That RT bit can easily turn into comedy. In the second part we will look at quite a bit of that comedy.

To be concluded…

I&B Admits MSM Losing to Social Media

So Arun Jaitley finally got up and slapped Justice Katju for his nonsensical propaganda work. About time someone did. Jaitley has sought the firing of Katju from his PCI post but he forgot another guy. He should have also sought the sacking of Varadabhai, the editor of The Hindu, who wilfully allowed Katju to peddle lies through his newspaper (or should I call it Matka?). In any case the propagandists are failing. And failing very badly! All the Queen’s poodles together haven’t been able to cause enough damage with their lies. This unfortunate truth has dawned upon the GOI after the Gujarat election results. Sagarika Ghose, Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai and the whole motley crew on TV tried their best to defeat Narendra Modi but failed. The Hindu and other newspapers tried too but they too failed miserably. Desperate times call for desperate measures. So the Congress has turned to the one they loathed the most in the last few years: Social Media. They have posted an application form for people to volunteer propaganda work through the internet.

Some comments in response to their invitation, through a blog post, are quite interesting and we should read and learn:

How many people you are selecting as volunteers?? – Ashraf VP

This guy wants to first know the total number of seats available and measure his chances of being recruited. That’s the limitation of the internet I guess. Like the I&B ministry it can’t take beyond a certain number or quota.

Have Worked with Some Social Media Giants & Did many Social Media campaigning, I am here to see the differences & Spread up positive Approach, Honest, Bharat Maa ko Pyar Karne wala, Govt. Ki Achchi Nitiyon ka Prasansak & Govt. ki Janhit ki yojnaon ko Social Media k Maadhyam se Janta tak Failana hi Lakshaya, 24 hours Dedicated & available over net,Planing to Develop Social awairness against baseless & mailafied criticism of right working Govt.& People – Anish56060

He’s the man. Manish Tiwari should be thrilled with this guy who is “24 hours dedicated and available over net”. He also comes with a lot of experience with some SM giants. I wonder if he’s referring to Poonam Pandey or Ashutosh Varshney. He has done many campaigns so he is against “baseless & mailafied” criticism. Understandable.

Interested in Inter-Caste/Inter-religion marriages for National Integration and Social Restructuring with ultimate aim to have a Manav Dharma & Casteless Society. If so, would you like to be a member of the Society for National Integration and Social Restructuring? If yes, please send particulars of yours and atleast ten other like minded men and women to dkdogra1942@gmail.com specifying whether you/they are inter-caste or inter-religion married person(s) or willing to be so or sympathetic to their cause. – DK Dogra

This one is the perfect ‘match’ for Manish Tiwari. He is willing to go beyond mere propaganda. He’s willing to arrange inter-caste, inter-religion marriages. And his last line is pretty impressive. “Specifying if you/they are… married”. So whether you’re married or not just respond if you’re sympathetic to his cause. The blog administrators of I&B must be thrilled with this comment being posted. The next three are strong, positive messages.

I HAVE A PLEASURE TO DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR MY NATION – Tuna

I love my country & i can do everything 2 its growth by the way me digital media. . .thanks & regards deep – Nokia7210

i Love Very much my India & i want to CORRUPTION-FREE-INDIA. it is my pleasure if i selected – Tanmay

Will do “everything 2 its growth… regards deep” … “I want to corruption-free India”. Really nice! Their writing and communication skills tell me they match the govt’s needs perfectly. All these guys are well-intentioned and are keen on doing something for India. It didn’t occur to the I&B ministry though, that in a blog post which merely requires a person to apply there isn’t much need for comments. But the form itself reflects the high IQ that Manish Tiwari & Co. possess at the I&B.

Alright, so I first ask you if you use any fuel for your vehicle. Then I ask you if you use a car or a bike. How very intelligent eh? This is to be on the safer side with the assumption that there might be car or bike users who may not be using any kind of fuel. So the form first asks you if you have regular access to internet and then asks if you use Twitter, Facebook etc. That is because there are, of course, millions of people who use Twitter and FB without access to the internet. The next question is how often you use your bike and there is one option that says “other”. I’m sure you’re wondering what this “other” is supposed to imply. Oh, this is for those guys who usually carry their bikes and cars on their heads instead of driving it. Or for that matter the guys who drive the most, the autos and taxis, who could be the guys who commute or travel the most. Right?

A report in DeccanHerald quotes a senior I&B official thus: “The internet is extensively being used by certain sections to discredit the government by their dubious comments and information posted in various sites. This needs to be tackled”. What exactly are these dubious comments and information? I suppose they relate to corruption, misdeeds, bad governance, scams, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi etc. The topics that our MSM is usually scared to talk about. The ministry must be disturbed that ordinary men and women lampoon the Gandhis and the govt unlike the crony MSM. They aren’t afraid to speak up. The official forgot to add that these SM crooks also do lathi charges and use water cannons against the govt. These SM crooks didn’t learn from the GOI that protesters must be treated with courage and consideration. These SM crooks also don’t respect the privacy of people like AM Singhvi when he does stuff in his chambers in the court complex. The honourable MSM does that.

When Rahul Gandhi reads a speech and the ladies (like Sagarika, Pallavi, Barkha, Nikhil Wagle, Ashutosh and others) are driven to tears, these shameless crooks on SM are laughing all the way. And look at these dubious Tweeple and Facebookers, they are simply ungrateful for all the hotel arrangements, wine and food that the Congress party arranges for them. No wonder they have to be frequently blocked and chopped. Are these people supposed to ridicule the Congress or the govt for all the failures, scams and hypocrisy? Why can’t they be more like NDTV, CNN-IBN, Indian Express, Hindustan Times or The Hindu? Can’t they be secular and fall at Madamji’s feet and be good dogs like the MSM? And a huge population of these SM crooks appear to be fans of Narendra Modi. Gujarat has totally failed in every aspect because there is malnutrition in Gujarat. Such shameful conduct by SM!

The social media is like a corner shop or a pub where people often meet. They talk, they chat, they gossip and they laugh at everything, including at themselves. Anyone will tell you that a sense of humour helps a lot to be hanging out on the SM. Manish Tiwari, if he is observant, would have learnt by now that the SM warriors are indeed largely volunteers. They aren’t organised labour unions or slave unions like the MSM. There is a reason why the govt, Rahul Gandhi or Manish Tiwari fail at social skills. They haven’t learned to laugh at anything. Jailing cartoonists and even blocking satire sites. If you make idiotic laws then people will flock to any avenue that helps them vent. The reason some media morons are constantly at war with SM is their inability to take a few jokes and laugh. And who’s heading the Congress war on SM? It’s Rahul Gandhi who has simply no presence on it. From the Congress, Shashi Tharoor is a far more popular man regardless of people’s political affiliations. He interacts with people, he takes lampooning and criticism in his stride. This is what people like Manish Tiwari and Zero haven’t learnt. They could start by attending some classes with Tharoor first.

While this foolish exercise reflects the total ignorance of govt about social media, it also reflects a terrible lack of social skills itself. The bigger realisation for the Congress also has to be that their entire lot of supporters have been left behind in progress, technology and education. And the official that the Deccan Herald quoted admitted under anonymity “But, these steps are not yielding the expected results. Those campaigning against the government in cyber space are far more dedicated and large in number”. Whatever excuses the official offers the warning is clear: The MSM is losing out to the voice of people, the SM. That’s at least one reason for people to cheer.