BENGALURU: When the BJP organised a mega social media conclave in Palace Grounds in August last year, its leaders clearly knew of the significant role social media was going to play in the upcoming election.Eight months later, when the BJP set up a war room for poll campaign, the other major parties — the Congress and the JD(S) — promptly followed suit. Balaji Srinivas, the convenor of the BJP's social media cell, estimates that of the 4.9-crore voters in Karnataka, 3 crore have access to the internet. “Though the party’s IT cell was formed in 2010, a huge team has been set up to handle social media in this election. “A lot of fake news spread on social media will adversely affect the party. The party uses social media not only to spread the message but also to receive feedback from our supporters.

Source: Economic Times March 20, 2018 01:41 UTC