21st Century Propaganda Wars

 

The hue and cry in the Muslim world over the Nupur Sharma incident is an excellent example of how modern propaganda machines make a mountain out of a mole hill.

A harmless debate on an obscure TV channel was picked up five days later and blown up to look as though the Muslim world was under threat. Not that it made any difference to anybody in India, but the sudden reaction from the Middle East was surprising to say the least. There were the usual counter arguments and denials.

The incident shows the sophistication the in the use of the media and the careful cultivation of any narrative which the authorities (here, the Qatari government) wish to promote. The reach of the media is every drawing room in the world so the potential is enormous.  Experts are saying the Al Jazeera channel used this incident to promote its own narrative to create a propaganda war. The government recovered fast and there were rebuttals to the OIC and the others who were prominently trying to foment trouble.

Two days later the hue and cry are dying down. Protests by Muslims in India still continue. This has always happened post a controversial incident. It will not be wrong to say that money changes hands and vested interests try to run their narratives. Iran and other countries have cut down on their rhetoric and deleted their tweets calling for investigations and arrests. This storm in a teacup is slowly dissipating. What it has highlighted is the need for a counter narrative to be promoted vigorously against such campaigns. Experts believe that India should have its own communication setup on a global scale. Something on the lines of the BBC, CNN or the Global Times. 

Propaganda wars have become subtle and sophisticated. This is the Age of the Internet and the information superhighway. One cannot decipher where fact ends and fiction begins. 

The irony of the situation is that all those countries criticizing India are themselves serial violators of human rights. Moreover, nobody in the Muslim world has shown the courage to highlight the plight of Uighur Muslims in China..

Most of the countries which matter have their own mouthpiece or a propaganda arm which can run narrative campaigns as and when required at the bidding of the government. In hindsight India should have established a dedicated publicity channel long back. It is never too late to start.