About the Author(s)
Owais Raza
The author is a BBA graduate from Federal Urdu University, Karachi. He has found a passion for writing about current issues and their solutions, especially enlightening his fellow youth about current affairs in their actual form.
In this digital age, sources of information and entertainment are becoming digital, and with the latest surge in AI development this digital age is stepping into a new era. Fortunately, Pakistan is not that behind in this digital age, an average Pakistani has access to the internet, has a social media account, and has used AI at some point. All of this development in technology, mainly in information technology, has opened the doors for almost everyone to learn anything. While this is beneficial in many ways, it also has its drawbacks, which are more dangerous than benefits for starters, it makes political manipulation easy. In this article, we will explore how the availability of information has caused confusion among Pakistanis. How AI will make it much worse, and how political parties are using these mediums to build a positive perception about them in the minds of Pakistani youth.
Information Technology as the cause of confusion
As information Technology (IT) has made it easy for anyone to access the information they need, it also has enabled anyone to publish the information they desire. So, this makes it an easy getaway to post bias, propagative, false, or partial information. Thus, with multiple sources of information, people, especially Pakistanis become confused. Many don’t know how to verify the information due to limited IT literacy, and there is no strong system implemented to counter the false information. Social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, are flooded with misleading content everyday by public figures, political pages, media outlets, and paid influencers.
For example: In very recent, a false claim circulated on the internet about watermelons, that sellers are injecting some chemical to make it appear redder. While this was debunked upon research, as you can’t make the watermelon red by injecting chemicals. However, this claim has cause decline in watermelon sales, affecting retailers who relies on these sales for their livelihood.
Similarly, political pages often post partial and distorted facts and figures to damage the reputation of the ruling opposition party this practice has become a trend recently. Dividing nations and its narrative.
For instance, During Imran Khan’s tenure scholarships, issuance of Sehat cards, and discount in electricity bills during COVID-19 were highly appreciated. However, these steps have caused damage to the improving national reserves. As we don’t have a surplus to be spent on these initiatives. Similarly, PM Shebaz Sharif’s Laptop scheme has caused similar or more damage to the economy as our reserves were already declining. These initiatives were promoted widely on social media while hiding their impact on the reserves.
This flow of information with having so many voices to listen to, has caused confusion among civilians. If one influencer says something the other will counter it, same goes for politics. Thus, creating more confusion among whom to support. Unfortunately, our standards of choosing what is right now depends on the number of followers, trends, and social media marketing skills.
The role of AI
With generative AI, and technology such as deepfake, it is becoming deeply confusing to whom to trust. Videos, photos, and even audios can be manipulated. For example: We are seeing call leaks every now and then, which have no guarantee over its truthfulness. They could have been generated through audio manipulation. But we trust them as they come from our favorite people.
Political Manipulation
Political manipulation has been extensively discussed, so there isn’t much new to add here. However, I would like to share some points to help you avoid being manipulated and confused, especially by politicians:
- Reports on everything, whether tax collection or power consumption, are available in their respective departments.
- Always cross-check politicians’ claims with official reports, as reports don’t lie.
- Cross-check the claims of your favorite leader and see if they opposed the same actions during their tenure.
- Stand for the issues you are facing by identifying the actual source of the problem, not just what your leader tells you. Sources can be found through official documents.
- Don’t share anything without research; it helps others avoid manipulation and confusion.
In the end, it is up to us to save our country from falling apart. We can’t do this without understanding the root causes of our problems. And relying on ourselves rather than waiting for someone else to save us. The first step towards this is to keep ourselves informed.
