Recent years have seen a surge of interest in digital media and its influence on politics, particularly in the context of India, which remains among the largest markets for digital media as well as a hub for political protests and campaigns. As we write these lines, more than half of the Indian population is now a mobile-first internet user, while this number was barely 20% in 2017. This changing digital landscape means, on the one hand, that political actors increasingly value online media as legitimate alleys of communication, and not only as spaces to signal tech-savviness. On the other hand, a variety of actors have acquired a significant political reach due to their online followership and reputational weight: YouTubers, digital media anchors, entrepreneurs, sportspersons, ‘twitterati’ politicians etc.
Photo by Baishnavi Bharati