While the invention of social media ushered in the golden era of communication, with subsequent tech booms creating communication platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram that provided room for previously disenfranchised individuals allowing them to channel their views and opinions, and thereby escorting in an era of inclusivity and tolerance, however, the flip side of the tech revolution also has an ugly head. 

The deeper echo chambers of all social media platforms provide an outlet to the most raucous of human behaviour and views including vile and degenerate right-wing obscurantism and profanity.

Profane and onerous views, however, have become mainstream through nefarious algorithms of social media platforms and people in positions of power often sprout their unqualified, illegitimate views that then colour the worldview of their subservient sycophants.

When the coronavirus pandemic reached the American shore, techie Elon Musk took to Twitter to express his view of the novel coronavirus. 

The entrepreneur, a resident of the United States, tweeted, “The coronavirus panic is dumb.”

1.45 million COVID-19 related deaths later, lets say, the tweet hasn’t aged well.

The 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, also the self-proclaimed winner of the US 2020 Presidential Election on November 16, tweeted that he had won the election.

The 74-year-old wrote, “I WON THE ELECTION!”

While the Republican candidate might hope that reality was he proclaimed on Twitter, government sources and all major media outlets in the US had by then declared his Democratic rival Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. President-Elect Biden will take his oath on January 20, 2021.

Writer JK Rowling known for her Harry Potter novels spewed transphobic rhetoric on Twitter on July 7. The British writer in a display of what can only be labelled ignorant behaviour, wrote on Twitter, ‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud? 

Her comments earned her the irk of a generation of fans who were mesmerised by the ongoings of the Potter verse, with actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint all condemning her comment.

While America’s 45th Commander-in-Chief Trump has made repeated use of Twitter to make policy announcements, singer Kanye West, announced his ultimately unsuccessful bid for Presidency in the 2020 US Election via Twitter.

The American rapper wrote, “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States!

Actor Kangana Ranaut has recently let her mouth run her into a lot of trouble. The potty mouth ‘Queen’ actor in September allegedly equated farmers agitating across Punjab against the farm bills as “the same terrorists who indulged in bloodshed even as no citizen lost citizenship due to CAA.” 

Ranaut’s tweet saw a police case being registered against her in Karnataka. 

Activist-lawyer Prasant Bhusan was imposed a one rupee fine for contempt of court, over two tweets, one criticising Chief Justice of India S Bobde photo on a Harley Davison and another where he criticised incumbent and past CJI’s.

In his tweet criticising Bobde that earned the ire of the apex Court, Bhusan wrote, “CJI rides a 50 lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhavan Nagar, without a mask or helmet, at a time when he keeps the SC in lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental rights to access justice.”

In his other tweet criticising incumbent and past CJI’s Bhusan wrote, “When historians in the future look back at the last 6 years to see how democracy has been destroyed in India, even without a formal emergency, they will particularly mark the role of the Supreme Court in this destruction and more particularly the role of the last 4 CJIs.”

In some of her other controversial tweets in 2020, she allegedly compared Maharashtra with Pakistan occupied Kashmir, and called depression, “a consequence of drug abuse.”

Director Anurag Kashyap courted controversy when he retaliated to the news of his death on Twitter. The four-time Filmfare Award winner tweeted that he met the Hindu God of the underworld and said how Yamraj dropped him home as an Entertainment news outlet KRKBOXOFFICE announced the news of his demise on the social media app.

Actor Swara Bhaskar courted controversy on November 18 when she made use of her Twitter account to question Zomato, an Indian restaurant aggregator, and its founder Deepinder Goyal, over its decision to fund Arnab Goswami run organisation Republic.

Swara tweeted, “Hey @zomatoin @zomato @deepigoyal I’m your regular customer. Do you plan to #DefundTheHate & pull your ads from hate espousing channels like @Republic Bharat? I’m not okay with my money even indirectly funding this kind of communal bigoted hate! Pls let your consumers know.”

Fans of Goswami and ardent lovers of his show took offence and retaliated by boycotting Zomato.

Comedian Kunal Kamra ran into hot water after he called the Supreme Court of India, a ‘supreme joke,’ November 11. Kamra, a stand-up comedian, who has never been shy of courting controversy, wrote, “The Supreme Court of this country is the most Supreme joke of this country…”

Kamra further called Supreme Court Judge DY Chandrachud, “a flight attendant serving champagne to first-class passengers after they’re fast-tracked through, while commoners don’t know if they’ll ever be boarded or seated, let alone served. 

*Justice*”

Kamra’s tweets earned him a contempt of court charge and Attorney General KK Venugopal labelled the tweets vulgar and obnoxious.