Semester: Fall 2019

Course Name: Introduction to Political Science

Report on Social Media Influences in Politics of Bangladesh

Submitted to: Dr. Mahbubur Rahman (Mbu)

Submitted by:
No. Name ID
1. Roynok Khan Badhon 1410848630
2. Hasib Ahmed Soyad 1520954642
3. Shahrear Rahman 1610053042
4. Akif Yaseen Karim 1721349642
5. Arpon Barua 1821897630

Date of Submission: 21st December, 2019

Introduction
Over the past century, the means by which politicians communicate with the people of this

country have changed greatly. Initially, politicians would physically meet with people and give

speeches in front of large crowds of people. However, as new communication mediums took

hold, politicians gained more power in terms of how they are able to reach people. First, it was

the radio, which gave politicians who had soothing voices an edge over politicians who did not

possess that quality. Then, it was the television which gave politicians an overwhelming

advantage against opponents. Today, we have social media, which is without a doubt the most

powerful communication medium to ever exist. Politicians can post messages that have the

potential to reach billions of people. The advent of social media in the political arena has

drastically impacted the politicians and voters alike in an age of modern democratic system, the

society demands for the information, in this context the media plays a crucial role in informing

the public about politics, about the campaigns and elections. The emergence of social media and

its dominant platforms has profoundly transformed many aspects of economic and social life.

But few of these transformations have been as heatedly debated as social media’s impact on

political institutions and behavior. But while the public demands information from the media,

there is also a chance for the media and politicians for negative campaign coverage and a

perceived media bias. Additionally, the media helps influence what issues voters should care

about in elections and what criteria they should use to evaluate candidates.

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Problem Identification

People tend to view the effects and news spread of social media negatively. It is often found that

people are being manipulated through this and act accordingly. But, in reality there’s more to the

good one than the bad sides of it. It have created significant movement in the country’s politics.

The ruling Awami League has become worried about social media sites, stating that the sites are

widely used to spread propaganda against the government. According to the party policymakers,

the social networking websites are so powerful that they are used to spread positive information

and propaganda simultaneously, reports Bangla Tribune. The party is conducting an extensive

study to rein in the propaganda. An investigation was conducted on those accounts from which

propaganda was spread and it was found that most of the user accounts were fake. The accounts

were operated from foreign countries, including those of the Middle East and the UK. The

Awami League also sought cooperation from the authorities of the Bangladesh

Telecommunication Regulatory Commission in this regard. Well we tried to focus on the fact is

Social media platform influencing any good causes to improve the politics in Bangladesh or not.

For that, we prepared a hypothesis-

Hypothesis:

H0: Social Media platforms are not influencing politics in Bangladesh positively

Ha: Social Media platforms are influencing politics in Bangladesh positively

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Research Methodology
This research is quantitative approach using descriptive research design to collect data from the

respondents in order to understand the social media platform regarding news spread to affect

political culture in the country positively or not. For research purpose we used both primary and

secondary data source.

For primary data source, we surveyed 25 individual through a set of questionnaire which was

close ended to get their view and that was done by in Google form. For secondary data, we used

and analyzed information through different articles, journals, newspaper and blogs.

Findings & Analysis

Primary data analysis:

We asked a few questions to about 25 people and found out that about 58.1% male and about

38.7% female are responsive towards the questions about Politics and 97.5% are the youth.

Research Questions:

 Are you fully aware of the political situation in Bangladesh?

We can see that most of the people are aware of what’s going on in Bangladesh Politics.

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 What kind of media do you follow to get political news?

Answer:

So we can see that most people use both kind of media and a few number of people only use

Traditional media. We can analyze that social media has become a very popular media for news.

 How reliable do you find the source you see about politics on social media?

Answer:

A huge number of people does not have much reliability towards all the news about politics they

hear or read through media.

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 Do you think fake news is also published with authentic news in social media?

Answer:

A large number of people said they think fake news are published with authentic news so we

asked them why they think this is happening. What they said is basically it happens, because of

marketing policy and getting more viewers for the particular media Because of powerful political

pressure and some pages are being run by the political parties and leaders.

• Did you choose or change your political party based on info from social media?

Answer:

Surprisingly there is a small number of people who said that they have chosen their political

party after being influenced by the news they got from social media. We can see that social

media can be agent of political socialization.

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Secondary data findings & analysis

Feedback/Engagement: One aspect that makes social media such a powerful communication

tool is the feedback aspect. Unlike the days of old, anyone can participate in dialogue and let

their voice be heard. Live video is unique in the sense that it allows users to interact with the

person streaming the live video in real time. We assume having a politician answering your

questions on a live stream would be an indescribable feeling. Social media allows politicians to

reach voters in an intimate way.

Analytics: Radio and Television did not give politicians an understanding of who was

watching/listening to them. Social media, on the other hand, uses analytics software to give

politicians an idea of the different demographics that they are engaging. This allows campaigns

to spend money more efficiently to target voters. Politicians can craft their message to reach

voters who are undecided about which candidate will get their vote.

Informed Voters: Prior to the rise of social media, the only people who would get the news

were the people who took initiative to seek news sources. However, in the age of social media,

the news is right in front of you. Whether it’s a friend sharing news, or seeing what’s in the

trending sidebar on Facebook, people who are on social media sites, particularly Facebook and

Twitter, cannot avoid seeing the news. Staying informed an updated is important for voters who

are deciding who to vote for.

Awareness on issues: In the age of social media nothing can be hidden to public. As news or

electronic media may later their news to show positive sides of the country sometimes. But due

to the enhancement of social media people are getting more news about their surroundings than

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ver. If there seems to be any issues which they think denying their rights in a democratic country

they created event and many examples can be found over the years which has become successful

and it got influenced through this medium.

Some key positive & negative influences of social media:

Shahbag Movement Generated by Social Media

Shahbag Movement, 2013 was an outcome of hate against the War Criminals. It was happened

by taking inspiration from the social media, Shahbag became movement demanding the capital

punishment for 1971 war criminals. By the passes of time Shahbag movement has turned into a

strict demand and that was death penalty for all those who committed war crimes.

The Movement was started from a single Facebook event. "Protest Against the Ruling Made for

Quader Mollah". Bloggers and Online Activists Network (BOAN) created this event. Their aim

was to protest against the judgment. Facebook was continued to play a major role in the protest

as users of Facebook spread their message through video, photos and words.

Bangladesh’s bloggers and online activists’ network originated the call for resistance. News of

the protest was spread very vastly with the help of online media, At its peak, the event drew an

estimated 100,000 people — students, professionals, musicians, writers—united, for the very

first time in years, under the banner of Shadharon Jonogon (ordinary people). In less than a

week, Bangladeshis held smaller protests in cities as far away as London and New York.

Protestors published thousands of pictures online, in blogs, on Facebook, Twitter, and online

magazines. A new website had been constructed for the issue and Shahbag Square has become a

major Twitter feed for updates of Shahbag. The protest has also been carried out to other nations

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which has been captured by Flickr. Many of the Bangladeshi blog aggregates have erupted as

well, protesting for the death sentence of war criminals including Sachalayatan, Amarblog and

Somewhereinblog. The location of the protest has also been renamed to "Projonmo Chattor"

after the protests had started. Without meeting their demands, the protesters said that they will

not move. These demands includes: capital punishment for Kader Molla and all war criminals,

ban on Jamaat and boycott on all Jamaat institutions. Kader Molla death was demanded.

Ramu Attack : A Facebook post and devastation of a minority group (Buddhists)

The Internet and social media play a central role in spreading religious and non-religious

extremism globally. Both tools can also be used to cool down tensions and to develop peace

among religious, ethnic and national groups. Individual people can make a difference by

launching large social media campaigns.

It started in Ramu but actually – in Facebook. Uttam Kumar Barua is a user of Facebook. He was

tagged with an image and a link was shares in his wall. The link insults the holy book of Islam –

The Quran. Uttam said he does not know anything about it. It came from another Facebook user.

He was accused allowing for the link; he is not a human, a Buddhist. So he is to be responsible

for this violation.

On 29 September, 2012, at mid night some religious extremists attacked Buddhist temples and

houses in Ramu of the Cox's Bazar District. Seven Buddhist temples and about 30 households

and shops were devastated by them. Hundreds of houses and shops were looted. Subsequently on

the following day Buddhist and Hindu temples in Patia and Ukhia were also attacked. In recent

times the indigenous people from Chittagong Hill Tracts have been subjected to attacks. But the

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incident of Ramu is different than those. Many are pointing fingers towards the Islamists party

Jamaat-e-Islami as the main troublemaker. Posts like these are being put up on the profile walls

of Bangladeshi Facebook users. Many from the majority Muslim community are ashamed

because they have not been able to defend communal harmony. Some are seeking apologies.

Some have taken to the streets in protest of the recent attacks against Buddhist temples in

Bangladesh.

Road safety Protest: Lead to the establishment of Road safety & transport act of 2006

On 29 July, two buses, with unlicensed drivers, crossed a footpath and collided, killing two

students and injuring dozens of people. The pictures of those who were killed got viral quickly

through social media. In a blink of eyes, hundreds of students poured into the streets demanding

justice for the incident. Since then, various neighborhoods in Dhaka and neighboring highways

to other towns, such as Tangail and Narayanganj, have seen protests by students demanding

justice and safer roads. Initial slogans included, “We want safe roads,” “We want justice”. But

soon, realizing the government’s attitude towards the protests, demonstrators started targeting

PM Sheikh Hasina for the government’s neglect of road infrastructure and repressive response to

the unrest.

Students and children as young as 9; their parents and people from all backgrounds have taken

the streets in solidarity, blocking traffic and all major intersections, asking drivers to show their

drivers’ permits, and protesting against the government’s inaction.

What began as a peaceful, citywide demonstration for the two deceased students turned in a

much bitterer struggle in Jigatala, when police authorities threw tear gas and fired rubber bullets

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at the protesters, injurings many. Hundreds more protesters have been captured by the police and

arrested. Some female students were allegedly molested and raped by the Bangladesh Police and

by the goons of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, which is a student wing of the nation's ruling

political party, Awami League (AL). When news of this circulated, students charged down the

streets demanding the arrest of the rapists. Many of the students in the demonstrations are

blaming the AL for the poor infrastructure in the city and widespread, rampant corruption across

the country. The BCL has been alleged of collaborating with the police to attack photographers

and reporters, including the arrest of famous photographer and activist, Shahidul Alam; in

addition to attacking students anywhere they can find them.

University campuses have been flooded by the Bangladesh Police and BCL thugs. From 4

August, internet access on cell phones was blocked for 24 hours in response to the protests. As

students and organisers used social media, particularly Facebook and Whatsapp, to organize

rallies and post pictures of the protests to gain widespread attention, the government asked

internet service providers nationwide to reduce internet speed, so that people could not post

images and videos online. Many representatives of the AL and the government are denied these

allegations and accuse the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of spreading rum ours for

political gain.

But what this massive revolutionary protest did that the road safety & transport act of 2006 came

into establishment due to the pressure from the mango people. It was created in 2006 but due to

the corruption and illegal practice of power this act never get to see the daylight. For the protest,

govt. had to establish and implement this act after a decade.

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Rumors, Fake News and Conspiracies:

Political campaigns are now influenced by every story, whether true or not, that gets spread

around social media. It’s getting more and more difficult to separate actual news from fake news

online. Social media makes this distinction especially confusing. The constant stream of memes,

links and rumors about political leaders and candidates is a mixture of truth, lies, satire and

speculation. There are now quite a few fake or satirical news sites that often post stories that

sound authentic. The Onion is the best known of these, but there are now many others as well.

Some fake news sites are not even amusing but simply exist to post click bait stories or to troll

readers who don’t do their own research. There are also sites with political biases or those

peddling various unsubstantiated conspiracy theories. It’s easy to be influenced by

misinformation posted by your friends and followers, even if they don’t intend to mislead you.

It’s therefore necessary to use a great deal of discernment before believing anything.

The Power of Confirmation Bias:

This is especially powerful when it comes to controversial topics, including politics. If you’re

like most people, the majority of your friends and followers on social media probably share your

outlook. This means that the vast majority of tweets, Facebook posts, pins or other content you

read on these sites tend to express the same point of view, one that you already hold. It’s natural

for people to surround themselves with others of like mind. This is true both online and offline.

On social media sites, this can create the illusion that everybody thinks the same way. If you

have a few hundred friends on Facebook, for example, and 90 percent of them agree on most

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political issues, the information you get will be filtered through this bias. People will post links

to stories that confirm your existing bias. They’ll repeat opinions you already hold. For this

reason, social media may reinforce our opinions and make it more difficult to entertain

alternative points of view. In politics, it can help to make people more opinionated and less

tolerant of others. On the other hand, if you make an effort to connect with an assortment of

people with diverse viewpoints, you can overcome confirmation bias and use social media to

make you more open-minded.

Through the analysis of primary and secondary data we found out that there is a huge

relationship between social media and politics. As media becomes ever more popular, its impact

on politics will only increase over time. But we are seeing more positive influences and bigger

changes been made due to the influences of social media which make us agree to the point of

accepting the null hypothesis that social media platforms are spreading & influencing people

lives in a greater and positive way.

Recommendation
The importance of social media in politics is undeniable. Though it can be used for gaining

advantage of a particular by fabricating information but still without it politics is also impossible.

 Users of social networking websites should keep far from spreading political scandal

related post and sharing the post.

 Rumor or chitchat is also a great problem for the users of social media and so they should

be careful about this phenomenon.

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 Users should also be careful about false messages that can undermine the trust of people

by diffusing, fabricating, and manipulating information.

 In time of election, media politics turns into scandal politics, assuming this, users should

have special attention towards this distorted propaganda.

CONCLUSION
While innovations in communication, from the printing press to cable television, profoundly

altered the relations between the governor and the governed and transformed the potential for

democratic and accountable governance, there are valid concerns that the political impact of

social media may be greater than that of these earlier innovations. The massive scale and reach

of social media allows a single post to reach millions of users. Its platforms facilitate anonymity,

which enables misinformation and promotes harassment and hate speech. Social media can lead

and mislead the strategic emotions of general mass towards any political party or its movement.

People who can distinguish between a propaganda or fake news and a proper, true news are very

few in numbers. These are a group of liberal people who thinks before they intake anything. But

outside this bubble, the majority of the people are not capable of that. They are sometimes

blinded by Ideology or they are so pissed at the millennial generation, anything that comes out of

this modern media they don't tend to believe. Rather they would believe what some random

people said. Whether is the upcoming events, schedules of the parties or their election agenda, it

is easy to get the details on Social media. Previously people were just voters but now they have

become active participants in the entire process. They can engage in an open dialogue through

social media. No one can forget the importance of social media in the election campaign

designed by Obama. It involved active participation of people. So, people using social media

need to be more selective to the type of news they hearing or sharing as based on that it could

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lead a radical alterations in the country’s politics or it could cause downfall of it due to some

opportunity exploiting group of people.

Reference

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Diplomat, T. (2019). Bangladesh’s Media Under Siege. Retrieved from

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