Social Media Can Often Be Very Rewarding
People turn to social media for a wide range of reasons. For most, it’s about staying connected with friends and family. For businesses and creators, it’s a channel for building a brand and engaging directly with an audience. But one of the areas where social media has proven most consequential is politics.
Campaigning on Social Media
Few elections anywhere in the world are fought today without a serious social media strategy. In the United States, presidential campaigns across the political spectrum have relied heavily on digital platforms to reach voters, raise funds, and shape narratives in real time. That pattern has only intensified in recent election cycles, as platforms and formats have evolved.
In India, one of the most widely cited early examples of social media’s political impact dates back to 2013, when Arvind Kejriwal and his newly formed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) used digital platforms to mount an unexpectedly strong challenge to the long-dominant Congress party in the Delhi assembly elections.
A New Party’s Rapid Rise
Social media played a significant role in raising the public profile of both Arvind Kejriwal and social activist Anna Hazare. The India Against Corruption movement, led by Hazare, drew large-scale public attention to allegations of corruption within the government of the time, and mobilized supporters across the country.
The gathering at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi was one of the largest civil movements the capital had seen in years. Hazare undertook a hunger strike in support of the Jan Lokpal Bill, an anti-corruption legislation, with Kejriwal among his key supporters and organizers. Social media amplified the movement considerably, helping turn localized public frustration into a nationwide conversation.
The government at the time, led by then–Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, faced sustained public pressure as the movement gained momentum, in part because of how quickly it spread online.
The Formation of a New Political Party
The India Against Corruption movement did not fully achieve its original legislative goal, and the coalition between Hazare and Kejriwal did not continue. Kejriwal subsequently chose to enter electoral politics directly, forming the Aam Aadmi Party. In the 2013 Delhi assembly elections, AAP won 28 seats — a striking result for a party contesting its first election — and formed a minority government with outside support from Congress. That government lasted only 49 days before Kejriwal resigned. In the fresh elections that followed in 2015, AAP won a decisive majority, taking 67 of 70 seats, and went on to retain power in the 2020 election as well.
Social media is widely regarded as one of the factors that contributed to AAP’s rapid early growth, helping a new party build visibility and mobilize volunteers without the infrastructure of established parties.
That said, AAP’s political trajectory has shifted considerably since then. Kejriwal was arrested in 2024 in connection with an investigation into Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy, resigned as chief minister after being granted bail, and was succeeded by fellow AAP leader Atishi. In the February 2025 Delhi assembly elections, AAP lost power to the BJP after 27 years out of office in the capital, and Kejriwal lost his own assembly seat. The episode is a reminder that social media can accelerate a political rise, but it doesn’t guarantee it will last — governance record and events on the ground still shape outcomes over time.
Social Media as a Tool Against Social Injustice
Beyond party politics, social media has repeatedly given ordinary citizens a platform to raise their voices against injustice, and to put pressure on institutions that might otherwise be slow to respond. Cases like the 2008 Aarushi Talwar murder investigation, the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, and the Geetika Sharma–Gopal Kanda case all saw significant public mobilization online, with widespread outrage translating into sustained pressure on authorities.
The response to the 2012 Delhi case in particular was striking: nationwide protests, hashtags, and campaigns demanding justice and stronger laws around women’s safety spread rapidly across social platforms, and are widely credited with contributing to subsequent legal reforms.
Where Social Media Stands Today
Social media’s role in public and political life has only grown more complex since these episodes. It remains an effective tool for mobilization, transparency, and holding institutions accountable — but it has also become a channel for misinformation, polarization, and manipulation, issues that platforms, regulators, and researchers continue to grapple with. Understanding both its power and its limitations is increasingly part of being a well-informed user.
What’s clear is that social media’s influence on public discourse isn’t going away. Individuals, brands, and political movements that engage with it thoughtfully and critically are generally better positioned than those who dismiss its relevance altogether.
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