Identification

The Rise of Populist Leaders: Social Media's Role in Creating Modern-Day Heroes

Have you noticed that populist rulers have emerged all over the world with the advent of social media?

The point I am trying to make is not that social media created such a thing. It is only that the influence of social media is certainly decisive in this regard.

In fact, what social media does is to creates "heroes". Don't we see hero-worship and stardom-worship happening more than ever before? Some new-rich, some celebrities, and a few enterprising poor are entering the scene as stars and heroes.

Big economic powers certainly have some ideological interests. They use far-right political parties to implement them. Such political outfits will present this ideology in a package adding with some other ingredients to it which only they can do. Even for that to take root among the people, it will take time. We humans are still social animals. Electronic media costs a lot of money. Moreover, even if they spend a lot of money, their influence on the minds of the people is very weak these days. The print media is comparatively cheaper. Their influence over the people is also very negligible. However, social media has a relatively high influence. And they cost much less. That is why big political groups hire content creators and "reactors" on social media to spread their ideas.

Literally, these cyber warriors, who are mercenaries, create a flood on social media through negative reactions and positive actions. One of the most effective things they do is to create heroes and stars. They spread content on social media in a naive way through choreographed reality videos and propaganda posts. Without a doubt, ten of us would transmit it to a hundred people and a hundred to ten thousand. Once a large section of society accepted them as heroes and stars, the puppet show will begin. We often do not realize that the 'heroes' and 'stars' that we have become admirers of were puppets created by others to mislead us. Once we reach the point of worshipping a hero or a star, we cannot immediately ditch them. Because, in the virtual world of imagination, we have become their slaves. Those who attack them are now our enemies too. Therefore, we would begin to attack those who attack them and those they attack. We will provide them with a protective shield. Because we are a part of them!