ALGORITHMIC DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN INDIA

Abstract

Political communication in India has moved online platforms within a few years and the move is so large that India becomes a useful Case study for what occurs when recommendation systems replace work that editors used to do. Networked media commonly known as Online Media or Digital Media now decide who gets heard, which issues reach attention and how citizens engage with electoral politics. The same platforms that gave marginalised communities a voice have also increased the spread of misinformation deepened social divisions and weakened the gatekeeping role that professional journalism once performed. Whether democratic institutions built for a media order can adapt to a system governed by proprietary recommendation systems remains an open question.Researcher examined this by surveyed 1,280 respondents across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh asking where they get information how often they encounter misinformation whether they know of any fact-checking organisation and whether they believe social media shaped their vote. The survey evidence is read against existing policy and regulatory literature. WhatsApp and YouTube dominated as sources of information for younger and rural respondents alike while awareness of formal fact-checking mechanisms stayed low across the sample. Almost half of respondents said social media had influenced their vote though the same respondents rated their trust in that content as low.The combination of trust and reported influence motivates the papers theoretical contribution the Algorithmic Democratic Communication Framework (ADCF). ADCF model totally depends up on ranking logic.