Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp machine

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Long Reads

Rest of World

17 episodes

5 days ago

Listen to Rest of World's best stories about the way technology is reshaping the globe. Narrated by our staff of writers and editors. Nearly four billion internet users live outside the West. We're telling their stories, with in-depth, on-the-ground reporting on topics like Big Tech’s global influence, e-commerce, cryptocurrency, the struggles of the gig economy, and the rise of EVs.

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Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp machine

Long Reads

28 minutes 18 seconds

1 year ago

Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp machine

As millions of Indians vote, there’s one platform most of them will turn to for information: WhatsApp. And no one controls the political narrative on WhatsApp like the BJP, the ruling party helmed by Prime Minister Modi.

In partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and Digital Witness Lab, Rest of World spent several months in northern India to explore how the BJP turned its WhatsApp strategy into an election-winning machine. Just in Mandi, a tiny Indian town with a population of 26,000, party volunteers run a network of more than 400 WhatsApp groups. Our analysis of thousands of messages sent in these groups shows how India’s ruling party is able to maintain a sophisticated operation on WhatsApp, and optimize its political campaign on the platform far away from public scrutiny.

Written by Srishti Jaswal. Narrated by Mithila Phadke.

Original story: https://restofworld.org/2024/bjp-whatsapp-modi/