Algorithmic Agitation: Social Media and Political Mobilisation in India (2014–2024) – Patterns, Mechanisms, and Democratic Implications

Jayaprakasha R

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.71403

Algorithmic Agitation: Social Media and Political Mobilisation in India (2014–2024) – Patterns, Mechanisms, and Democratic Implications

Author(s)	Dr. Jayaprakasha R
Country	India
Abstract	The architecture of citizen participation and political mobilization in India has been reconfigured down at its roots with the growth of digital communication technologies. In this piece, social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter (X), WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube in particular are positioned as a central means of political communication, electoral campaigning and social movement organising from 2014-24. And it unpacks how, by what means and in which ways digital platforms enable and fashion political participation in general – and updated forms of engagement more specifically. Drawing on qualitative research methodology, the article investigates how political actors, civil society organizations and citizens strategically use these instruments to mobilize support, shape public opinion and coordinate action. The focus is on the transformative potential that social media holds for India’s democratic processes, as well as challenges it imposes. By attending to regional level dynamics in Karnataka, the article situates national trends within local context. There is speculation that even as social media has allowed for rapid, large-scale, and diffused mobilisation in Indian politics – transforming the manner in which collective identities are forged and alliances coordinated – such use of platforms without regulation and with asymmetric deployment has also contributed to socio-political divisions and information disorders, thereby leading to a paradoxical impact on democratic health. They contend that social media is an inescapable binary force in Indian democracy and the need of the hour was a tripartite policy response comprising balanced regulation, stepped-up digital literacy and ethical political communication to unleash its participatory potential while mitigating its threats.
Keywords	Social media, Political Mobilisation, Digital Democracy, Political Participation, India, Karnataka, Misinformation- Networked Public Sphere
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-13
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.71403

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Algorithmic Agitation: Social Media and Political Mobilisation in India (2014–2024) – Patterns, Mechanisms, and Democratic Implications

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