The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab has stirred an avoidable controversy by registering an FIR against some social media influencers, journalists and RTI activists, whom it found to be spreading negativity against it (the government).
Getting adverse publicity was something unexpected for the AAP since it has been able to manage the media, whether the traditional/legacy media or the social media. The AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab are known to have always kept a maximum budget for the multi-tired publicity, expecting positive coverage in return, which it has indeed been getting.
This was not unexpected, since the AAP is known for setting up agendas and building up narratives to its own advantage. If any political party has immensely used social media to its maximum advantage it is the Aam Aadmi Party. No other political party in the country comes any closer, not even the Bharatiya Janata Party.
When the AAP formed governments, first in Delhi and then in Punjab, it allocated extra budget for the publicity and it worked very well. By and large, the AAP has managed to get a “compliant media”, whether the mainstream or the social media with a huge publicity budget.
However, some of the individual YouTube influencers with substantial number of followers and some RTI activists sprang surprise for the ruling party with the “adverse” reporting. These handles have become quite popular among people, particularly with their “anti-government” agenda, when most of the other media have remained very restrained and discreet in criticizing the ruling party.
In fact the FIR had been registered several days ago, but came into the public domain recently. This has expectedly provoked the entire media fraternity, which has started rallying behind the journalists named in the FIR. The police, however, have not taken any coercive action against any of these journalists. The case against all of them was apparently registered as a “warning” signal only, without any serious intention to take follow up coercive action.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government at the centre has also been spending substantial resources on media management. However, unlike the AAP in Punjab, the BJP has not shown such “zero tolerance” towards adverse reporting anywhere.
Whosoever proposed or advised the government to book the journalists under “criminal sections” of the law, has not done any good to the party. The media fraternity has been regimented and consolidated in complete unity. Even those, who may not like to be part of the anti-government agitation for multiple reasons, have rallied round their colleagues.
“Zero Tolerance” policy towards adverse media reporting is the worst thing that an elected government can have. It should not be averse to receiving the “adverse/negative publicity” as this helps the governments to get an unfiltered feedback, which nobody else can provide otherwise and the government can accordingly take corrective measures. Instead, the party has decided to shoot the messenger.
While the traditional/legacy media can be managed with generous advertisements, it is impossible to have control over the social media that too when there are multiple platforms and so many users and influencers. Taking on a few of them has only hurt the image of the government. The best thing for the government will be to withdraw the FIRs without making it an issue of prestige.
Never try to shoot the messenger, just because you did not like the message. And never try to bite more than you can chew.
