Arifa Noor at Dawn: As a journalist who has been slogging at it for decades, the talent and creativity of those who are using social media never ceases to amaze me. Aun Ali Khosa is one of them. There is also other work — for instance, a video by the digital media platform, Raftaar, where a young man, to illustrate the size of indirect taxation, spends Rs1,000 on charging his phone, filling up his bike, and so on, to show how much of what people spend ends up with the government. The two-minute video made its point far more effectively than entire newspapers and hours of talk shows.
Then there were the light interviews of politicians by The Current, another digital website, started by two young women journalists and podcasts on Pakistan Experience. A young man who doesn’t seem to have any journalistic experience has perhaps done hundreds of excellent interviews that any working hack would be proud of having in their portfolio.
In contrast to these young creators, the mainstream media in Pakistan has spread its tentacles to nearly every new platform on social media, without actually creating any new, path-breaking content. The same stories, the same conversations and the same formats — the only difference is that multiple platforms are being used to spread it. But the real change is the technology itself and the young, dynamic individuals who are using it in new ways.
The word in mode for it is ‘disruption’.
It is not just being caused by these technologies but also the people using it. People such as Khosa, or Pakistan Experience‘s Shahzad Ghias. In politics too, the change is evident, be it the PTI’s social media team or how the young Baloch use it to mobilise and reach out. Even human rights activism has changed; the way Imaan Haazir uses her X account to reach out or highlight issues runs parallel to her court appearances.
Disruption or rather the way in which it is caused is new but perhaps one can just call it change. And change is never easy for those in charge.
The natural reaction is to try and stop it. This is perhaps the simplest explanation for many of the recent arrests and dis-appearances. What else can those scared of change do? It is like asking why the Pope imprisoned Galileo.
More here.
