In this chain one new film’s teaser, ‘Swatantraveer Savakar’s teaser was released timed with his 140th birth Anniversary on May 28 when the new parliament building was also inaugurated. The 73 second teaser makes some statements and all of them are either false or manipulated to glorify Savarkar, the patron saint of Hindu nationalism. Though he was not part of RSS, it was his book ‘Hindutva or Who is a Hindu’ which formed the ideological base of RSS. As RSS did not participate in the freedom struggle, it has been constructing icons which it thinks can be ideologically close to its political agenda. Savarkar is their major choice as in the first part of his life till he was jailed in Andman’s and was anti-British revolutionary. Harping on this part of his life the Hindu nationalists glorify him to the sky.

When Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA came to power in 1998, Savarkar’s portrait was unveiled in the parliament. The debate around unveiling of his portrait also projected the second part of his life when he emerged as the ideologue of Hindu nationalism, ‘two nation theory’ and his collaboration with British rule.

During his regime Vajpayee planned to give Bharat Ratna to Savarkar, but this proposal was turned down by the then President of India, Dr. K.R. Narayanan. That notwithstanding a plaque was put up in his honor in Andmans. Now during the last nine years as Modi is ruling, Savarkar anniversary is celebrated with pomp and the latest in the series of honoring him was to inaugurate the new parliament building on his birthday.

The tease states that only few people participated in the anti British struggle and the rest were there to grab power. This is a big insult to all those revolutionaries who, unlike Savarkar rotted and died in Andman jail, to all those Indians who participated in the major anti British Movements of 1920 (Non Cooperation), the Civil disobedience (1930), Dandi March, the Quit India. It is also an insult to the likes of Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad and their colleagues who in the bravest possible fashion put their lives on their palms and stood rock solid against the British Empire. It is an insult to the efforts of Netaji’s Azad Hind Fauz.

Teaser goes on to state that had Gandhi not insisted on non-violence India would have got freedom 35 years ago, i.e. in 1912! The script writer must have been in the world of unadulterated fiction to have written this. In 1912, Savarkar himself was in Andmans, Tilak, the major leader of Congress, was in Mandalay prison and Gandhi was in South Africa. That the major role in the freedom of the country was played by non-violence is stating the obvious. The revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, in later part of their movement, opined that non violent mass movement is the path for getting freedom.

Teaser claims that it was Savarkar, who was the source of inspiration for Khudiram Bose, Bhagat Singh and Netaji Bose. Lies should have their limits but not for those who are motivated ideologically especially in sectarian nationalism. Eighteen year old Khudiram Bose was martyred in 1908 a year before Savarkar’s book on 1857 came to light, while Savarakr himself was in London from 1906 to 1911. As far as Bhagat Singh is concerned he did mention Savarakr’s book on 1857 and ‘Hindu Padpadshi’ among many other books, not as a source of inspiration but for some quotes. Bhagat Singh was inspired by Gadar party’s Kartar Sarabha, whose photo he used to carry in his pocket. And also by Lenin, whose literature he devoured through and through.

Bhagat Singh was a total contrast to Savarkar. Savarkar pleaded for clemency, offering to serve the British in whatever way they thought fit. He did help strengthen their army in the context of the Second World War and was a recipient of a British pension of Rs 60 per month. Savarkar did not utter a single word when Bhagat Singh was hanged to death!

As far as Subhashchandra Bose, the rumor is spread through multiple mechanisms, that it was on Savakar’s advice that he formed Azad Hind Fauz. There is no truth in this. Savarakar actually was helping the British army when Bose’s army was fighting against the British. Bose was for composite nationalism, while Savarkar was the ideologue of religion based nationalism, two nation theory. Bose was equally critical of Savarakar and Jinnah whom he urged to close ranks and join the freedom movement, while this duo served the British designs of suppressing the national movement.

In his article in The Forward Bloc (his paper) Bose argued that ‘The Hindu Mahasabha has been doing incalculable harm to the idea of Indian nationhood by underlining the communal differences—by lumping all the Muslims together…We cannot oblige Mr Savarkar by ignoring the contributions of the nationalist Muslims to the cause of India.’

He wrote in the second part of his book, The Indian Struggle, that while Jinnah ‘was then thinking only of how to realise his plan of Pakistan (the division of India) with the help of the British,’ Savarkar seemed to be oblivious of the international situation and was only thinking how the Hindus could secure military training by entering Britain’s army in India.’

In response to the teaser of the film, Netaji’s daughter Pfaff told Times of India, “Like Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji was opposed to the divisiveness based on religious differences. Let Sarvarkar’s followers join Netaji in his vision for India and not hijack him for views that certainly were not his,”

We are living in times where the Hindu right wing is being well served by many in the film World, and this forthcoming film based on falsehoods will be one more example of the same.

Related:

Decoding politics behind inauguration of new Parliament Complex on Savarkar’s Birth Anniversary

https://sabrangindia.in/article/decoding-politics-behind-inauguration-new-parliament-complex-savarkars-birth-anniversary

The post Teaser of Film on Savarkar: Lies Galore appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Under the Arms Act, section 9, anyone under the age of 21 is prohibited to possess or acquire any firearm or ammunition.

Arming Hindus has been on the agenda of right wing groups for a while now and in this bid, they have managed to distribute trishuls (tridents) to thousands of men and women in the past year. Distributing tridents to their workers and taking oath for Hindu Rashtra and protecting the religion has become a common practice in northern parts of the country, especially Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan where these right wing groups have a stronghold.

In Madhya Pradesh’s Shajapur, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Durga Vahini organised a weapons training camp for minor and young girls calling it “Shourya Prashikshan Varg” (Bravery training class) between May 7 to May 14. A local news portal called ‘Breaking Newswala’ did a report on this where it can be seen on video how these young girls were given a rifle in their hands as well as long sticks and taught to fight with them on an open ground. This was organised on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hostel ground in Shujalpur and more than 500 girls were given the training.

On May 26 the training session in Jodhpur Rajasthan was aimed at training young girls in self defense and martial arts. It was organised by Durga Vahini. In the video the girls can be seen using rifles, sticks as well as being taught martial arts. The representative of Durga Vahini while speaking to the reporter of ABP Live said that the training was being conducted in using sticks and rifles as well and that the training session would last for 7 days in Saraswati Vidya Mandir and was being imparted to 200 girls.

Location: Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Hindu far-right groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Durga Vahini have organized a seven-day training camp where Hindu girls are trained in firearms. pic.twitter.com/Q3x8cJ4EfB

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) May 26, 2023

On May 30, a video surfaced on Twitter from Chittorgarh, Rajasthan whereby Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Durga Vahini organized the firearm training for Hindu girls. In the video girls were seen donning an orange dupatta and firing from rifles at empty glass bottles and towards the end of the video the girls in training were seen chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’.

Location: Chittorgarh, Rajasthan

Far-right groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Durga Vahini organized illegal firearm training for Hindu girls. pic.twitter.com/anIqVQIlnG

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) May 30, 2023

Another video came up on May 30, from Panvel, Maharashtra where young boys were being trained in using rifles, sticks and general physical fitness.

Location: Panvel, Maharashtra

Firearm training at Bajrang Dal camp for Hindu youths. pic.twitter.com/emukjx8p4Q

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) May 30, 2023

On May 30 came another video from Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh where firearms training at “Shaurya Prashikshan Varg” camp was organized by Bajrang Dal. Young men were seen jumping logs set on fire while holding rifles in their hands and had tied saffron headbands.

Location: Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh

Firearms training at “Shaurya Prashikshan Varg” camp organized by Bajrang Dal. pic.twitter.com/JilBMnqDhZ

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) May 30, 2023

Many of these training resembled the kind of training that is usually imparted to defence personnel in training academies for getting inducted in the defence services.

Related:

Arms training to minor and young girls in Madhya Pradesh

Rising anti-Muslim fury in Rajasthan: Haj pilgrims attacked, Hindutva outfits urge women to use firearms

Pravin Togadia and his incessant hate speeches in Madhya Pradesh

The post Right wing groups train young boys and girls in using firearms appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Outrage sparked over this incident and the Muslim community in the area is being targeted by the right wing groups as one of the accused is a Muslim. A procession was carried out by right wing groups as also businessmen of the area and shouted slogans against the Muslim community while threatening them to vacate their shops. Fearing violence, 42 shopkeepers and vendors like street hawkers, vegetable vendors, bicycle repair persons and other such small businesses reportedly fled the area.

The protesting group also sent a memorandum to the Governor through SDM Devanand Sharma demanding the immediate removal of businessmen from a particular community, with a criminal mindset. The procession then turned into an angry mob and removed the boards of the shops where the accused were working, reported Dainik Jagran.

Related:

Akola: Muslim men fleeing homes fearing police action

No Compensation Enough for Traumatised Kukis Fleeing Manipur

Maharashtra: 5 injured after 2 communities clash over Sambhaji Maharaj Jayanti procession, tensions simmer in Ahmednagar, Nashik

The post Uttarkashi: Muslims flee homes as right wing threatens the community over abduction of young girl appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This claim had baffled many. People started demanding that the makers of the movie give proof of such claims. The fact checking website, AltNews delved deep into these claims and found that the Director, Sen, had based it on an absurd mathematical calculation. According to the AltNews report, Sen, in an interview on YouTube channel ‘The Festival of Bharat’ had said, “In 2010, former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy made a statement before the Kerala assembly. Before my camera, he denied that anything had happened. But in 2010, I documented a case where he (Chandy) said that every year approximately 2,800 to 3,200 girls were taking up Islam. Just calculate it for the following 10 years, and the number is around 32,000.”

Even in this statement that Sen has recently made, where he states that so many girls “were converted to Islam,” there is no record or proof of the corollary: that they were converted and then recruited for the ISIS! Clearly, such a brazen discrepancy in his claims, through his film and then on camera makes it evident that his statements have no basis.

The AltNews report had also found that India Today had reported in 2012 that Oomen Chandy informed the state legislature that 2,667 young women converted to Islam in the state since 2006” (that is, from 2006 to 2012). Again, these are numbers included those women who had converted and did not reflect any data pf those “who joined ISIS after conversion.”

The teaser that was released in November 2022 appeared as if it was a real woman (actual real-life woman) speaking of her experience on camera. Many shared it on social media portraying it as an account of a real person and some news houses like the India Today, had to issue a fact check saying that it is only a movie preview and not a true story.

However, this week after the trailer has been released, again the teaser starts with the claim that the movie “is inspired by many true stories”. People opposing the propaganda of the film have repeatedly sought the evidence behind such claims.

John Brittas, CPI-M member of Rajya Sabha, had written to Union home minister Amit Shah in November 2022 seeking stringent action against the makers of the film and had said that while the film claims that 32,000 women were converted and sent to ISIS, the Union home ministry puts the number at 155 all over the country.

It is believed that the film is based on lives of four couples who had left for Afghanistan in 2016 to live under Islamic law (by the claims of the film). The Print, in a visual representation showed, who they were and where they came from in Kerala.

Source: The Print

It appears the lead protagonist is inspired from the real life of Nimisha from Trivandrum, since she allegedly converted to Islam and her husband, a Christian had converted to Islam. The Print report also states that between 2016 and 2018 only 21 people had thus “fled” to Afghanistan.

A StratNews Global report stated that 60 Indians including 26 males, 13 women and 21 children “fled to Afghanistan between May 2016 and November 2018.” The news portal had conducted an interview with the women who had been widowed and one of the women, Sonia Sebastian, is seen in the video saying that they moved to live under Islamic law (Sharia), the Caliphate and not to join ISIS. She also said she wished to return to India and stay with her husband’s family.

There is also an interview with Nimisha (alias Fatima) where she said she was happy in Khosaran under Islamic law.

A former security official involved in capturing and investigating foreign fighters under Afghanistan’s previous government told The Daily Beast that “a total of 26 Indians were captured and held in Kabul prisons at the time of the fall of the Afghan government [last year].” Of these, only five were women, he said under the condition of anonymity.

As per a United States Country Report on Terrorism (2020) “there were 66 known Indian-origin fighters affiliated with ISIS.” It further states, “Through the end of September (2020), the NIA had investigated 34 terrorism cases it indicated were related to ISIS and arrested 160 persons”.

All these reports, serve as evidence that the claims being made in the yet to be released movie are indeed false and fall flat. While there is enough evidence to disprove these claims, the makers of the film haven’t come up with even one credible source for the preposterous claims being made in the film.

The director Sudipto Sen is known for his closeness to the regime. He was in news recently as the only Indian on the IFFI 2022 jury and the only jury-member to dispute jury president Nadav Lapid’s public censure of ‘The Kashmir Files’. At the closing ceremony of the film festival held in Goa, Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid had described director Vivek Agnihotri’s, The Kashmir Files as a “a propaganda, vulgar movie”. Mr Sen’s denial seen as suspect in December, makes sense now that his own film seems destined to go the Kashmir Files way.

Related:

Moradabad Police debunks false communally charged claims made by Panchjanya, warns of taking legal action if misinformation is spread

Christians of varied denominations demand rights, dignity, protest at Azad Maidan: Maharashtra

BJP govt in Karnataka drops 182 cases of hate crimes in 4 years: Report

The post The Kerala Story: a movie with preposterous claims peppered with Islamophobia appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee translates Paash’s unforgettable poem “Sabh Ton Khatarnak”

 

Lucas Samaras, “Photo-Transformation”, 1973/ Image Courtesy: metmuseum.org

In 2006, the Hindi translation of Paash’s famous poem “Sabh Ton Khatarnak” (The Most Dangerous) was included in the Class XI Hindi textbook. Now, in one of its periodic blows to education and culture, the RSS affiliated Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas has recommended that the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) remove a poem by the poet Paash from textbooks. Paash (Avtar Sandhu) is in good company. Dinanath Batra of the Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas also wants to keep students from reading the works of Rabindranath, Mirza Ghalib and MF Husain. 

What would our students learn from Paash’s work and his life? That we have poets who opposed any kind of religious fanaticism; poets who believed in a secular, progressive India, and were willing to die for their dream. A poet like Paash, who wrote for the people, and against any form of repressing the popular voice, whether it was through censorship, the Emergency, or the Khalistani separatists. 

The Greatest Danger
The plunder of labour isn’t so dangerous
The police baton isn’t so dangerous
The fist of a swindler’s greed isn’t so dangerous
To be caught without a fuss is awful
To be caught in timid silence is awful 
But they aren’t so dangerous
Amidst the noise of deceit
To bow down when one is right is awful 
To read in the light of fireflies is awful
But they aren’t so dangerous 
The greatest danger of all is
To be filled up with the corpse’s silence
To not feel stirred and gulp down everything
To leave home for work and return home again
The greatest danger of all 
Is the death of our dreams
The most dangerous time
Is what runs in your wrist
But stays fixed in your glance
The most dangerous eyes 
Are those which see everything
But remain frozen like ice
Those eyes which forget to kiss
The world with love
Turned into ashes by the 
Blind fire emanating from things
Losing itself drunk by daily work
In the twists of a futureless dilemma 
The most dangerous moon 
Is one rising in the ruins 
But which doesn’t needle your eyes 
After a murder is done
The most dangerous song
Is one rendering an obituary
So your ears might hear as they
Stubbornly stick like rogues
Before the doors of frightened people
The most dangerous night
Is one descending into the sky of
Living spirits where only owls
Screech and where the howls of jackals
Are glued to the forever dark doorways. 
The most dangerous horizon
Is where the spirit’s sun descends
And broken pieces of its dead light 
Pierce the souring part of your body.
The plunder of labour isn’t so dangerous…
 

Paash recites his poem. Courtesy https://paash.wordpress.com/
 
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕ
ਕਿਰਤਦੀਲੁੱਟਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਨਹੀਂਹੁੰਦੀ
ਪੁਲਸਦੀਕੁੱਟਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਨਹੀਂਹੁੰਦੀ
ਗੱਦਾਰੀ-ਲੋਭਦੀਮੁੱਠਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਨਹੀਂਹੁੰਦੀ
ਬੈਠੇਸੁੱਤਿਆਂਫੜੇਜਾਣਾ-ਬੁਰਾਤਾਂਹੈ
ਡਰੂਜਿਹੀਚੁੱਪਵਿੱਚਮੜ੍ਹੇਜਾਣਾ -ਬੁਰਾਤਾਂਹੈ
ਸਭਤੋਂਖਤਰਨਾਕਨਹੀਂਹੁੰਦਾ
ਕਪਟਦੇਸ਼ੋਰਵਿਚ
ਸਹੀਹੁੰਦਿਆਂਵੀਦਬਜਾਣਾ, ਬੁਰਾਤਾਂਹੈ
ਕਿਸੇਜੁਗਨੂੰਦੀਲੋਅਵਿਚਪੜ੍ਹਨਲੱਗਜਾਣਾ -ਬੁਰਾਤਾਂਹੈ
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਨਹੀਂਹੁੰਦਾ।
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਹੁੰਦਾਹੈ
ਮੁਰਦਾਸਾਂਤੀਨਾਲਭਰਜਾਣਾ,
ਨਾਹੋਣਾਤੜਪਦਾ, ਸਭਸਹਿਣਕਰਜਾਣਾ
ਘਰਾਂਤੋਂਨਿਕਲਣਾਕੰਮਤੇ
ਤੇਕੰਮਤੋਂਘਰਜਾਣਾ,
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਹੁੰਦਾਹੈ
ਸਾਡੇਸੁਪਨਿਆਂਦਾਮਰਜਾਣਾ।
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਉਹਘੜੀਹੁੰਦੀਹੈ
ਤੁਹਾਡੇਗੁੱਟ ‘ਤੇਚਲਦੀਹੋਈਵੀਜੋ
ਤੁਹਾਡੀਨਜ਼ਰਦੇਲਈਖੜ੍ਹੀਹੁੰਦੀਹੈ।
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਉਹਅੱਖਹੁੰਦੀਹੈ
ਜੋਸਭਦੇਖਦੀਹੋਈਵੀਠੰਢੀਯੱਖ਼ਹੁੰਦੀਹੈ
ਜਿਸਦੀਨਜ਼ਰਦੁਨੀਆਨੂੰਮੁਹੱਬਤਨਾਲਚੁੰਮਣਾਭੁੱਲਜਾਂਦੀਹੈ
ਜੋਚੀਜ਼ਾਂ ‘ਚੋਂਉਠਦੀਅੰਨ੍ਹੇਪਣਦੀਭਾਫ਼ਉੱਤੇਡੁਲ੍ਹਜਾਂਦੀਹੈ
ਜੋਨਿੱਤਦਿਸਦੇਦੀਸਾਧਾਰਣਤਾਨੂੰਪੀਂਦੀਹੋਈ
ਇਕਮੰਤਕਹੀਣਦੁਹਰਾਅਦੇਗਧੀ-ਗੇੜਵਿਚਹੀਰੁਲਜਾਂਦੀਹੈ।
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਉਹਚੰਨਹੁੰਦਾਹੈ
ਜੋਹਰਕਤਲਕਾਂਡਦੇਬਾਅਦ
ਸੁੰਨਹੋਏਵਿਹੜਿਆਂਵਿੱਚਚੜ੍ਹਦਾਹੈ
ਪਰਤੁਹਾਡੀਆਂਅੱਖਾਂਨੂੰਮਿਰਚਾਂਵਾਂਗਨਹੀਂਲੜਦਾਹੈ।
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਉਹਗੀਤਹੁੰਦਾਹੈ
ਤੁਹਾਡੇਕੰਨਾਂਤੱਕਪਹੁੰਚਣਲਈ
ਜਿਹੜਾਕੀਰਨਾਉਲੰਘਦਾਹੈ
ਡਰੇਹੋਏਲੋਕਾਂਦੇਬਾਰਮੂਹਰੇ-
ਜੋਵੈਲੀਦੀਖੰਘਖੰਘਦਾਹੈ।
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਉਹਰਾਤਹੁੰਦੀਹੈ
ਜੋਪੈਂਦੀਹੈਜੀਊਂਦੀਰੂਹਦਿਆਂਆਕਾਸ਼ਾਂ ‘ਤੇ
ਜਿਹਦੇਵਿਚਸਿਰਫ਼ਉੱਲੂਬੋਲਦੇਗਿੱਦੜਹਵਾਂਕਦੇ
ਚਿਪਟਜਾਂਦੇਸਦੀਵੀਨ੍ਹੇਰਬੰਦਬੂਹਿਆਂਚੁਗਾਠਾਂ ‘ਤੇ
ਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਉਹਦਿਸ਼ਾਹੁੰਦੀਹੈ
ਜਿਹਦੇਵਿੱਚਆਤਮਾਦਾਸੂਰਜਡੁੱਬਜਾਵੇ
ਤੇਉਸਦੀਮਰੀਹੋਈਧੁੱਪਦੀਕੋਈਛਿਲਤਰ
ਤੁਹਾਡੇਜਿਸਮਦੇਪੂਰਬ ‘ਚਖੁੱਭਜਾਵੇ।
ਕਿਰਤਦੀਲੁੱਟਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਨਹੀਂਹੁੰਦੀ
ਪੁਲਸਦੀਕੁੱਟਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਨਹੀਂਹੁੰਦੀ
ਗੱਦਾਰੀ-ਲੋਭਦੀਮੁੱਠਸਭਤੋਂਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕਨਹੀਂਹੁੰਦੀ।
 

---

Pash or Paash (September 9, 1950 – March 23, 1988) was the pen name of Avtar Singh Sandhu, one of the major poets of the Naxalite movement in the Punjabi literature of the 1970s. He was killed by Khalistani extremists on March 23, 1988.
 

Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee is a poet, writer, occasional translator and political science scholar. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, Guernica, The London Magazine, New Welsh Review, Rattle, 3:AM Magazine, Mudlark, MPT, Outlook, The Hindu, The Wire, etc. He teaches poetry at Ambedkar University, New Delhi.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 

The post Warning: Dangerous Poet! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Alright with the alt-right? PA

Far-right movements are clearly on the rise throughout Europe and the US. Winning elections in the US and campaigns to leave the European Union are providing an effective boost to charismatic public figures clutching a populist ticket and claiming to be outside of the establishment.

And in two major events of 2016 – Donald Trump’s election and Brexit – far-right movements have leveraged social media far more effectively than their opposition.

The “alternative right” or alt-right, has made expert use of blogs, tweets, hashtags, memes, and trolling to provide a legitimised voice to far-right ideas – and to use that voice to speak to huge amounts of people.

A nebulous collection of internet-savvy individuals who came to prominence in support of Trump’s presidency, the alt-right represents various right-leaning ideologies including white supremacy, Islamophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-feminism and opposition to immigration.

Meanwhile the left’s social media usage seems to come across somewhat differently. Undoubtedly there are left-leaning campaigns gaining effective and vital support through social media – the Scottish National Party’s presence on Twitter for example, or the polished Facebook page of Pablo Iglesias (leader of the radical left-wing Spanish political party Podemos) which has compared Spanish politics to Game of Thrones.

But there are notable differences in how the social media usage of the left and right are reported and thought about in wider culture. There are innumerable reports exploring, in depth, Donald Trump’s Twitter timeline (which then adds to his social media presence, while a lack of coverage restricts social media growth).

Some say Hillary Clinton’s supporters even assisted her defeat by choosing to insult Trump supporters online rather than engage them in serious debate. British commentator Jonathan Freedland argued that Brexit Remainers have done little more than “exchange ironic, world-weary tweets, the electronic equivalent of a sigh, each time they read of some new hypocrisy or deception by the forces of leave”.

Given this imbalance, what might the left do to make better use of social media? Imitating the dubious strategies of the “alt-right” with an “alt-left” counterweight is probably not a positive move. (Remember that “alt-right” as a term and movement has its origins in the writings of Richard Spencer, president of white supremacist think-tank The National Policy Institute.)

Rather, what the left might benefit from is an examination of its own social media success stories.

One example is the @StopFundingHate campaign. This Twitter account (with 66,000 followers) encourages consumer pressure against companies which spend money advertising in right-wing publications such as the Daily Mail (which, it is argued, provide platforms for divisive social ideologies). So far its biggest victory has been Lego’s decision to end free giveaways through that newspaper.
 

Daily Mail and Lego not playing together any more.

To find out why the this particular Twitter account had sparked so much public interest, we analysed tweets featuring the #StopFundingHate hashtag with colleagues at Newcastle and Northumbria universities. As part of the CuRAtOR project, we work on investigating the cultures of fear that are propagated through online “othering” and how this can lead to subsequent mistrust and stigmatisation of groups or communities.

We found a large concentration of tweets around the sharing of a video produced by the campaign which plays on the British tradition of emotive Christmas TV adverts.

The seasonal ads usually attempt to associate positive traditional Christmas values – togetherness, goodwill, family – with the company’s products and services.

The @StopFundingHate video overlays clips from these adverts with text that juxtaposes their feel-good sentiment against the apparently divisive content of newspapers these same companies choose to advertise with.

Tweets that shared this video also often use a word, “brandjamming”, to succinctly describe the video’s aim in a single snappy term. That aim is to leverage consumer power against retailers by publicly pressuring them into cutting financial ties with sections of the news media.

One key element of the campaign’s success was its timing. It appeared in the lead up to Christmas, when emotions are stirred and consumers have power. Second, it seems that sharing visually engaging material is more effective than simply tweeting. The video had a simple message which realigned TV adverts we may have previously felt good about.

And while these strategies do not necessarily suggest a message with much longevity or depth, they do work to produce something that resonates with people and which people are motivated to share.

Social(ist) media campaigns

Building on these insights, we also collected the tweets produced by the @StopFundingHate account itself. These often referred back to the campaign’s own larger social media presence, with tweets containing terms like “Facebook”, “following” and “share” – regular reminders for followers to spread the message to non-followers and extend the reach of the campaign.

@StopFundingHate also regularly hijacks hashtags already in use by companies as well as more general Christmas-themed hashtags such as #goodwilltoall. This serves to place the message within more mainstream domains – somebody searching for heart-warming tweets about #bustertheboxer might happen across @StopFundingHate and question the validity of their feelings about the John Lewis advert.

@StopFundingHate uses its account to directly call out companies including @LEGOGroup, @JohnLewisRetail and @Waitrose. In mentioning these companies, the onus is thereby squarely placed on them to respond or, more typically, to be seen as failing to respond to critiques levied directly at them.

Yet it is important to remember that @StopFundingHate is not universally well-received. Just as the “alt-right” have been accused of dubious social media practices (such as trolling opponents, or using personal details in threatening ways), there has been a backlash against this particular campaign for encouraging press censorship.

So for @StopFundingHate and the left generally, a careful balance has to be struck. They need to be seriously committed to social change without being considered as a branch of the thought police.
Nevertheless, to put up stronger opposition against an increasingly institutionalised right, the left needs to analyse and reflect on its use of social media. If it does, it will be able to strike that balance – and apply its successes elsewhere.

(Phillip David Brooker is Research Associate in Social Media Analytics, University of Bath. Julie Barnett is Professor of Health Psychology, University of Bath).

This article was first on The Conversation.
 

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