Malicious morphing

Social sites have spawned their own set of ills — with intent and tone ranging from pranks to malicious cruelty. There’s incessant trolling, spreading fake news, and posting morphed photos and videos to scandalise and embarrass celebrities. And most often, the targets are women.  Perceived as soft target in our patriarchal society, women are are being increasingly hounded by miscreants who post their morphed photos and videos on platforms like Facebook. While some like journalist Rana Ayyub choose to speak out, others like FIR actor Kavita Kaushik prefer to quit using the platform altogether. She quit Facebook after a post revealing the reason behind her decision, and calling it a waste of one’s time and energy.

Mukesh Gupta, Chairman Tourism Committee, feels that Facebook of late has become the dumping yard for most idle people to post useless and irrelevant messages and pictures. “The worst part is the rampant misuse of this social media platform by several gossip-mongers who resort to posting morphed photos and videos just to scandalise and embarrass celebrities and well known persons with the aim of damaging their reputation. This is their warped idea of fun. On the other hand, for the celebrities concerned, it’s much damage done. They have to ignore it and move on. This is a hazard of the freedom of expression stemming from the explosion of social media.”

Actress Ihana Dhillon, who made her debut in the movie Hate Story 4, admits that celebrities often fall prey to mean pranks like morphing and it is something that should be looked into. “People who face the brunt of various negative aspects of social media face a lot of trouble in our society and being famous makes matters worse. Celebs are under constant scrutiny and pressure, and find themselves being questioned about something they have not done. Life in the glamour world is not easy. But blaming Facebook alone is not a solution, these suspects will find other ways to do these things.”

Aashmeen Munjaal of Star Salon and Academy strongly feels that social media has started tarnishing one’s reputation. “Recently a friend of mine, who is a doctor, had to deal with someone defaming her on her Facebook page. She did report it to Facebook but, shockingly, as per their criteria, the language used wasn’t abusive. But character assassination is not acceptable. While some ignore it, many find it really hard to cope with it and often fall into depression. Personal videos going viral is another horror that some face. I strongly believe that these platforms should be strictly monitored and there needs to be a segregation between what is factual and what is fake.” Adding to it Munjaal shares, “Women in India are associated with morality, character and integrity, making them more vulnerable than men. Also, most people who love assassinating others’ character, often work with multiple fake accounts. Alienating competition is another reason why many use social media to tarnish someone’s reputation. This attitude is spreading rapidly and needs to be checked.”

Actress Shefali Zariwala agrees that social media is a double-edged sword. “Today everything you tweet and post becomes a topic of conversation and people assume things based on your statement. Being in the entertainment industry helps as one can interact with fans and well wishers but there are also trolls you have to contend with. I think everyone should try striking a balance — be on social sites for the information and entertainment it provides but don’t make it the focal point of your life. Given the increase in cyber crimes, it’s imperative to have a zero tolerance policy and bring perpetrators to justice. Being a woman I know the kind of mental abuse one can receive on social sites and apart from exercising caution, victims must take help from the authorities if any untowardly incident takes place. It’s also prudent to keep information to a bare minimum and have only known people in your friend list. Few precautions can help in the long run.”  

For Tathagata Chowdhary, a lawyer by profession and founder of Theatrician, social media needs to be censored. “Since it lacks censorship tools, it is being taken for granted that the user is at liberty to express anything and such expression may have the potential to damage reputation,” says Chowdhary, adding, “Since the user of the medium is utilising the platform without censorship, the receiver of the content needs to have the maturity to evaluate the shared information. The emotion evoked is not just the result of the influencer but also the participation of the influenced. We are at complete liberty to block offenders who indulge in abusing the lack of censorship on social media. Sites like Facebook can be abusive, destructive or highly constructive, depending entirely on how we allow us to be influenced.”