Many of the influencers have a striking similarity in their promotion of India’s Hindu-majority culture, and several back BJP’s ideology.
NEW DELHI - Indian folk singer Maithili Thakur thought she was successful, with millions following her Hindu devotional tunes on social media – but then Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent her popularity into the stratosphere.critics say Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has co-opted the vast youth fan bases of hugely influential social media stars – in fields ranging from music to culture, and fashion to fitness – to push their political message.
“There are many influencers who are collaborating with the current ruling government and making videos,” said Ms Thakur, who has 14 million followers on Facebook, and more than 4.5 million each on Instagram and YouTube. “So much buzz was created,” said Ms Thakur, who was named Cultural Ambassador of the Year at the Creators Awards – where she shared videos of meeting Mr Modi.was built at the site of a centuries-old mosque that was razed by a mob of Hindu zealots in 1992.
“Purely on the question of incentives, you can see how this will skew them to engage in discourse that’s overwhelmingly positive, or at least non-critical.” With over half of India’s 1.4 billion people aged under 30, according to government health figures, using social media is a “tactic” to reach out to young voters, Ms Thakur added.The government’s online platform, MyGov, also carried interviews with the prize-winning influencers praising Mr Modi.
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