THE MESSAGE IS THE MEDIUM HERE
As Sri Lanka’s madeby-politicians political imbroglio entered its fourth week with no end in sight, the UNP suddenly decided to write to Mark Zuckerberg, the head at Facebook.
The letter that was sent over the weekend said - “It is very likely that officials from the current illegal administration... may ask Facebook for information on selected Sri Lankan users of that particular social media platform that should rightfully be private. Such requests may include information on named individuals, geo locations and other identification details of users who view and post on these pages.”
Manusha Nanayakkara, used his Facebook page to go live from within the chamber. On the first day when fracas broke out, then again it was a Facebook live feed of media outlet, this time done from the gallery
Those of us who have been watching social media even before the current political turbulence felt that the letter was a preemptive move by the UNP. There was no indication that Facebook was contemplating releasing such data and even by mid-week, the letter went unacknowledged. But what has been true is that Facebook and other such social media have opened up another dimension in the ongoing efforts to gain public attention and then monopolize the information arch. Facebook has been in the forefront as the platform that was allowing all parties concerned to get content into the public domain.
On Monday, when the public galleries of parliament were closed off, there were also fears that journalists would come under heightened security when they tried to use their mobiles from the press section. Journalists cannot use their mobiles from the gallery but some have been using them during the last few sessions. And if the official live feed were to be cut off, then there would be no way the general public would get access to what was going on within the chamber. But when sessions started those who wanted, were getting pictures that were as close as you could get to parliamentary sessions – from within the members areas.
Recent double crossover, Manusha Nanayakkara, used his Facebook page to go live from within the chamber. On the first day when fracas broke out, then again it was a Facebook live feed of media outlet, this time done from the gallery, that I used as my main source to witness what was taking place. Facebook was also being used by the political parties, journalists and others to live stream interviews, press-conferences and other incidents during the crisis.
There are around six million Sri Lankan origin Facebook accounts and since the March riots, Facebook has been paying increased attention on Sri Lanka.
Twitter still remains a selective domain. It is still a niche platform but an important platform for news makers, influential individuals and others. Information, rumour and pure lies get shared here instantaneously and when it works well, they get verified and crowd sourced.
The other main platform that seems to be heavily used is Whatsapp, to share, verify tips, news and rumour. The danger with social media is its potency to go viral and the ease with which it allows for fake content. The other danger is that computed influence
pedalling when bots can be used to boost content, troll and harass. During the ongoing crisis there has been no significant use of bots boost content or personalities. But there have been marked developments.
In the past the social media community that had Mahinda Rajapaksa as the nucleus dominated the Sri Lanka social media sphere, especially, that relating to political or related content. With October 26 take-over, we have seen a much more pluralized and diversified field with UNP, JVP and other parties also realizing the importance of social media.
Ordinary citizens have also taken to social media to express their disgust at what was going on and they have been quite open. The memes have the best antidepressant for the political mess.
The author is the Asia-pacific Coordinator for the DART Centre for Journalism and Trauma, a project of Columbia Journalism School. He can be reached via Twitter - @amanthap
SINCE MARCH RIOTS, FACEBOOK HAS BEEN PAYING INCREASED ATTENTION ON SRI LANKA
ORDINARY CITIZENS HAVE ALSO TAKEN TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO EXPRESS THEIR DISGUST