DNA Edit: Beware of social media – Def minister’s advice to soldiers must be paid heed to

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s advice to the troops along the Line of Actual control at Hayuliang in Arunachal Pradesh to be wary of social media makes a good deal of sense. She was at the LAC to spread Diwali cheer among soldiers and boost their morale. This is not to say that the armed forces should stop using social media. In fact, it could be a useful weapon for psychological warfare and deception as Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat had suggested earlier. Ms Sitharaman was underscoring the fact that Facebook and WhatsApp are breeding grounds of rumour and hatemongering as well as the schools of half-baked theories. Subscribing to them blindly can be counter-productive, especially if credible sources of information to corroborate facts/events aren’t available. And, more importantly, reading negative news about the forces can prove to be demoralising. 

Unfortunately, a great many social media posts are aimed at disrupting our daily life and to cause chaos and confusion. For soldiers manning remote outposts in the mountains to stave off Chinese incursion, it could be difficult to detect the lies and half-truths. The Chinese use of information warfare has played a prominent role in intensifying rivalry with India, especially during the Doklam stand-off. Their skill at shaping the perceptions and thought processes of their opponents has been deeply embedded in their strategic culture for millennia — to subdue the enemy without fighting. And since it is not a democracy, the Chinese government has always found it easy to maintain its stranglehold over the flow of information. The Army top brass should also train the forces on how to detect fake news and videos of propaganda that terrorists and insurgent groups are adept at using in social media. One has to make the best use of cutting-edge technology to stay ahead of adversaries.