In what comes as apparent measures to counter the "paid troll army" that has allegedly taken over online chatter in India, the Congress has now introduced its own social media unit in an attempt to help the youth reclaim space in the internet landscape.
In a Twitter post from his official handle on Monday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged the youth to step up and join the grand old party as 'social media warriors' in order to "defend liberal values".
In his video address to the youth, Gandhi alleged that oppression reigns all around India and that "the backbone of this war on the nation is a troll army."
"Thousands of people who spread hatred and anger, and are paid to do so," the Congress leader said, adding, "We also need warriors to defend liberal values, to defend the ideas of compassion, peace, harmony and affection."
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He urged youngsters to join the 'army', noting, "This is not an army of hatred, this is not an army of violence. This is an army of truth, this is an army that is going to defend the ideas of truth."
Finally, he said that Congress party is building the relevant platform to give youngsters "the tool to fight this battle and win".
Notably, Rahul Gandhi has recently been seen to be quite active on social media, especially in countering the central government often over the ongoing farmers' protests over the three contentious agricultural laws.
The Congress has also sought, with its ruling coalition partner in Maharashtra -- Shiv Sena, an investigation into the BJP's alleged connection with tweets of some celebrities and whether the saffron party "arm-twisted" them.
Is this the inception of the fated 21st century cyber-warfare that Indians were doomed to encounter? Over 'troll armies', memes, claims, counter-claims, fake news, and fact-checks? It's possible that the answer shall indeed reveal itself in time, if exhaustion had not yet gripped our collective conscience by then.
