Facebook Back Into Politics; EC Trusts Them As Partner For Karnataka Elections!
The Chief Election Commissioner has made it clear that social media is a reality, and they cannot just ditch them because of few ‘aberrations’.
Last year, Election Commission and Facebook had ‘partnered’ for Karnataka Assembly Elections, which are due to happen again in May this year.
After the controversy erupted regarding data harvesting of Facebook users by some firms and using that to influence elections in the US and other parts of the world, we were concerned that this partnership could be broken.
But not anymore – Facebook and Election Commission will remain as partners for the upcoming elections in Karnataka.
We hope that along with reminders for voting, Facebook doesn’t “suggest” which party to vote for!
Election Commission: Social Media Is A Reality
Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat has made it clear that social media is a reality, and they cannot just ditch them because of few ‘aberrations’.
He compared social media with banking and said that few banking frauds doesn’t stop anyone from banking.
While announcing Karnataka election dates, he said,
“Any aberration won’t stop the use of modern technology… banks frauds have taken place, but we don’t stop banking,”
This means that Facebook will remind all 18+ Karnataka citizens about voting and encourage everyone to use their electoral power in the upcoming elections.
Govt. has already made sure that Facebook is not misused in any election, and concrete steps are being planned. Earlier, Facebook had tried to register voters via their platform as well.
But, will it be enough?
Whistleblower: Congress Party Used Cambridge Analytica’s Services!
Meanwhile, the whistleblower who had revealed damning information about Cambridge Analytica’s unethical practices to influence voters using Facebook’s data has revealed that Congress Party had indeed used their services.
While testifying before UK Parliament, he said his ex-firm  “worked extensively” in India; and named Congress Party as one of the clients.
Under oath, whistleblower  Christopher Wylie said,
“They (Cambridge Analytica) worked extensively in India. They have an office in India… I believe their client was Congress but I know that they have done all kinds of projects. I don’t remember a national project but I know regionally. India’s so big that one state can be as big as Britain. But they do have offices there, they do have staff,”
Interestingly, the testifying series also revealed an interesting fact: An unnamed billionaire paid a substantial amount of money to SCL Group, which is the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, to ensure that Congress lost elections.
The mystery is indeed, getting deeper.
We will keep you updated.
