Indian media using dead soldiers on social media to gain traction is disgusting
Social media may have made it easy for us to condole deaths and share our grief, but has it led to a culture that's more sensitive about human emotions?
Well, not really. At least the Indian media experience seems to tell a different story.
As Indians took to social media to "demand revenge" after Pakistani forces killed two soldiers and mutilated their bodies along the Line of Control on Monday morning, some news organisations quickly changed the cover pictures of their Facebook page. What's more, they even pinned the pictures of the martyred soldiers asking to "Pay your tributes" #Pakistan #Kashmir.
While such a move on the government of India's Facebook page could have been understood, a private enterprise promoting itself on social media with the ruse of paying tribute to soldiers seemed less of a homage and more of a marketing gimmick.
And what better opportunity to engage readers than the soldiers' death.
As an entire country outraged over Pakistan's barbaric act, media organisations went about their business of gaining online traction with little remorse.
Ever since the news of the soldiers' killing broke out, Indians, including the martyrs' kin, demanded that Pakistan "should be taught a lesson". Grieving Indians even trolled Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "not taking any action". Even as angry netizens used the hashtag Badla lo (take revenge), #ModiWeakestPMever was one of the top trending hashtags on Tuesday.
Why is Indian Govt so soft towards Pakistan? Do they again have to go for dinner with Nawaaz #BadlaLo
— Gaurav Kumar (@puraanigali) May 1, 2017
Are you not weak now PM sir.... Stop playing with country's emotions act now or step aside #ModiWeakestPMever pic.twitter.com/YO0Ooy7q77
— मनमोहन सिंग पहुजा (@msgpahujaa) May 2, 2017
While reactions on Facebook and Twitter can transfer the same kind of emotions to others sharing your feelings on social networks, some of us seem to have crossed all limits of insensitivity to maximise our business via social media.
There is nothing sincere about such cover pictures, but plain thoughtlessness.
The unimaginable penetration and reach of social media has created several digital channels that give advertisers the ability to directly market their products to consumers. It's not just low-cost, but also has the widest possible reach. But do we really have to use our martyrs to reach out to consumers?
Statistics show that the United States has the most Facebook users and India has the second-highest number with 213 million. There are around 22.2 million Twitter users in India.
It's also no secret that social media has already changed the way newsrooms function (with most journalists relying on it as their primary source). Indian media has had a number of instances where armchair journalists picked up online rumours and passed that off as news, only to realise that even others followed suit without bothering to verify the source.
With the number of users growing every day, Facebook has become a major meeting point for Indians, and it is on this network that enterprising Indians have been conveniently promoting their products with little or no advertising laws applicable to the medium.
But we don't need laws to guide our conscience and rules to express grief, gratitude and grudge.
Data, they say, is the currency of social media marketing. According to this blog: "Data is what justifies the time we spend writing posts, crafting campaigns, and connecting with our audiences."
While understanding social media analytics is essential for making data useful, using the ocassion of a soldier's death to market our product is not just the worst social media marketing mistake, but a sad reality of Digital India.