'Cheese!'
Click.
'Oh this is horrible. We all look as though we have just woken up from a nightmare! Could we try just one last time, please'. Anthony looked at his family of three with pleading eyes. Here he was, only fourteen, wanting to preserve so desperately one last memory of a time, when they were still a family. In a few days, his parents would file for divorce, his swanky basketball dad would move out with his already-packed boxes, and his cat Coco.
Another 'cheese' and click...and the same glum faces bore themselves on the screen.
'Beautiful family Christmas portrait', friends commented.
'Our tech-savvy Anthony managed to tweak up the photos a bit, and paste a nice smile on our faces,' my friend Lizzie later confided in me, almost laughingly.
No one could have blamed the grown ups for not being in a mood for a photo-shoot, as no one could blame Anthony for wanting to hang on to the dimming lights of one last Christmas memory with mom, dad and his brother Joe.
Anyone, who saw the photo that holiday season, could not have remotely guessed as to what a traumatic moment it was for the family. How hopeful the 'click' that followed a pathetic chorus of 'cheese' ...and how sad that photo actually was, and how much unspoken pain it hid.
Such moments, while making one appreciate the wonders of technology, also give rise to much skepticism. The thinning line between what's real and what's not, leaves us in a state of continuous conflict. The increasing chasm between the Real, and what is presented as real, and resultantly, what is accepted as real seems to have catapulted the human consciousness into a domain of chaotic rashness. Only a few behind the scene know the actual picture, and they manipulate it to serve their own interests.
The number of fake stories circulating on WhatsApp in the last few years could be cited as a classic example of the increasing duality of the modern world. The intricate overlapping of false messages with the true ones, has woven a woof and waft of informational fabric which makes it harder and harder to decipher one from the other. This, in a country like ours, does more harm than good, creating more hatred amongst communities through polarizing messages. In the last few years, such irresponsible and fake WhatsApp messages have lead to mass hysteria, lynching, and bludgeoning of several innocent people.
It is worthwhile to note that in a survey done by MIT, a false news is seventy percent more likely to get re-tweeted than an authentic one. It's hardly a wonder that some news channels on television have a daily slot to highlight the fake news which are making the rounds in WhatsApp circles.
However, the use of subterfuge in the communication world is not a recent phenomenon.
In the year 1992, there was a much-talked about covert operation that took place in a reputed media house in our own country. The operation aimed at stopping the entry of foreign media. The reason behind it stemmed not from a sense of deep-rooted or bigoted patriotism, but from resentment at not being the natural choice for a tie-up with a distinguished London-based financial newspaper. This newspaper, gearing up to conquer the Indian market by appealing through its professionalism the savvy Indian investor, should have, by all account, chosen the most prestigious, the most circulated, the most established Indian counterpart. But, it did not. Instead, it opted for ABP of West Bengal. So, the corporate world within the aforementioned media mogul came abuzz with schemes to kill the burgeoning collaboration between what it perceived as two unequal partners. Like a spoilt child, whose wish was not granted, it set about hatching a plot against the competitor, who had, by some good fortune bagged the contract.
A certain Nehru Forum was formed. A certain unsuspecting freedom fighter, who happened to be a staunch Gandhian from Bangalore was requested to chair this forum, which sought to protect the rights of the citizens, and the true freedom of this country. Needless to say, the chairperson came armed with a heavy sac of morals and ethics, and believed in preserving the integrity of Indian culture, and promoting its intrinsic values. An office was set up, manned by two young girls, happy to be part of such a thrilling conspiracy.The office, a tiny cubicle within the main building of the media house consisted of just one table, and two old-fashioned phones, with new numbers. One of the two young girls happened to be me. Our job was to obtain the phone numbers of foreign dignitaries, politicians, prominent thinkers and journalists, and invite them to the upcoming seminar on the evils of the entry of foreign media. We introduced ourselves as the concerned members of the eminent Nehru Forum, our sole interest being to protect the legacy and vision of our forefathers. The seminar was held at ICCI, and was well-attended, and more importantly, rigorously covered by the press. Successively, many such seminars were held throughout the country, and no one realised how bizarrely ridiculous the whole situation was. No one except the media house which sat behind the curtains, masterminding the cabal.
In the fourth estate, the executives were running around, getting clippings of the coverage the event had received from various publications.They were pleased by its outcome, and by the sheer ingenuity of the plot. In corporate meetings, from behind the shut doors, we could hear peals of laughter rolling on the carpet, and bouncing off the walls. They had managed to create a stir where none existed... make ripples without even having to skip an actual pebble.
So, every time you read something, try reading in between the lines, when you see something on the television, try looking for the real picture...for we are living in an era, where the word has lost its sanctity, and vision its credibility. Pause and ponder about the 'real' story behind the scenes. What is being fed to us through various media channels and WhatsApp messages may be a trap to divert one's attention from the actual issues.
