Farmers Movement Archive

Young farmers weeding out ‘misinformation’ on Web

Nearly 50 youth hailing from protesting farmer families have come together to counter “misinformation” and a “negative campaign” against the demonstrations in the capital round the clock. They take turns to bust falsehoods on social media platforms, take questions and reply to them and counter any negative perception. The youth say that because the elders in the family are not tech-savvy and are often unaware of the alleged slander, they have taken it upon themselves to engage with all those who doubt the motive of the campaign and feel that there is anything beyond a genuine anguish against the three proposed farm laws. Another reason, says this bunch, is that the traditional media has not been fair in reflecting their concerns. “So we leverage our education and technical know-how to bust the lies spread by the government about farmers. Apart from people at the Singhu and Tikri borders, we are also being helped by college and university students in large numbers, who are working round the clock and educating farmers back in Punjab and Haryana about the flaws in farms Bills,” said Harinder Happy, media coordinator and a Ph.D. scholar. Mr. Happy said they did not have a big set-up but they were fighting with what resources they have and counter malicious campaign on social media where farmers have been called terrorists. The leaders of the agitation have been targeted and defamed on social media. “To educate farmers and people on social media about our protest, every day we hold a live session on social media from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. where we take questions and answer them,” Mr. Happy said. “The BJP IT cell is targeting urban middle class people who are not aware of agrarian crisis or issues and they have been misled by TV channels,” Mr. Happy said.

The Hindu

2020-12-21

NEW DELHI