Daily Times

Much is said for digital media rights, but no one accentuates any minimum qualification required for a content creator to get going. They rebuff any legislation aimed to keep digital content under checks, tout de suite, but pretend to be stoic if the morals of content creators aren’t schooled. The flat plateau of intellectually impotent digital media of Pakistan presents a unicorn of problems going head for the hills, many times, yet no one tames it as no one sees it. An ever unsettling equation this is becoming, but since no buds are being nipped, better stay there where you are!

Fair enough, if the provision of rights is talked about, could we explain rights for whom? What is the problem?

In simple words, there are many, and counting one on would mean snubbing the remaining 99. Pakistan, besides an intellectually polarized society, offers dense heterogeneity in the civic sense, a total contrary to developed nations. The peninsula between the comprehension levels takes a toll on social media. The content creators lack the spine to play neutral and inclusive. Consequently, the netizens consume their rhetoric and nonsense, chew the cuds and somehow soak in the disinformation, unwillingly, whereupon an intellectually more unstable society continues to mushroom. When trouble surfaces on the horizon, here come the law and enforcement agencies roping in. The assailants are then summoned, the mutineers are chased, and the perpetrators are trailed but all in vain. The handcuffs are rolled around but no one gets wrestled in. The brunt only wreaks havoc on digital media consumers and the arrestees and arresters go hand in gloves, again.

Confused? So let’s keep it snappy.

I’m particularly referring to three things being talked of heavily these days: Quality control of digital media content, gate pass for social media influencers and laws/regulations protecting their rights!

To understand these three components, we don’t have to reignite a dialogue over how digital media is touted as the future media or what should linear do for face-saving, right? I’m not interested anyways; this is what we’ve been doing for ages. Go get a plethora of thesis work, soak into those one hundred wasted talk shows, attend vigour-less conferences with exuberant splashing outs secured and come back with one single perspective and I am all yours.

Pakistan, besides being an intellectually polarized society, offers dense heterogeneity in the civic sense, a total contrary to developed nations.

The problem starts when we fail to comply with multilateral trends on the graph. We only pick the uprising digital media trends but refuse to catch up with the velocity of substandard content being generated on the y-axis as the time proceeds on the x-axis.

It’s surely two-way traffic, isn’t it?

The ideal case shall be if the content creators are well-informed, know their subject, are not far right, non-violent, and devoid of elements of ethical superiority. On other hand, the authorities wishing to control content creation should be unbiased, impartial and neutral. Pretty utopian but this is how it is.

But unfortunately, our content creators are mostly knuckleheads, sorry to break it to you, with a machine available that now rapid fires—social media. They enjoy ownership which is absolutely ok but certainly not at the cost of becoming an absolute pain in the neck. So sickening to see some people nag on breakfast for being harassed, bullied & hectored, left right centre, yet they’re temerarious enough to take sides of untrained influencers on an evening seminar. This duality is inflicting pain on the collective growth of intellect. We want to hear sense but we hire nonsense to say sensible things!

The content creators, however, are pretty privileged in our country with no real bars. The disinformation is a norm and philippics are presented with pride. No one apprehends them. The genuine content about Science and innovation breathed its last lately, so anything with real scientific connotation is a pie in the sky these days, so forget it. They forge out dubious medical researchers, devise self-invented remedies and millions get trapped, literally. For instance, a famous quack Hakeem operates in Lahore, and now owns an empire. He knew the recipe and it worked for him. These guys are invincible, who’d dare to interfere? Similarly, many content creators instigate fraudulent financial ploys to swindle the public and guess what; they get back triple-crowned. They even sell injurious cosmetics, fake deals, traps and even faith.

So where is the God damn check? Does it even exist?

It does, yes!

But unfortunately, it only works for might…accentuates the juggernauts in Pakistan as the most deserving entities. Therefore, accountability only comes into play when their respect, their sanctity, well-being, their money, and their reputation are at stake. These checks don’t talk about your respect, your sanctity and your belongings. Let’s weep.

By the way, may I dare to throw a naïve question, please? Why does gatekeeping only accommodate politics and border securities and not technology, sciences, innovation, health, mental well being and civic sense?

By our standards, it’s absolutely ok to pull out lewd conversation with people on road for a prank show, belt out raunchy songs and forge out fake news against or for someone, but it’s not ok if one dares to speak for injustice, inequality and inclusiveness.

So it implies we are treating both sides of the pendulum unjustly. Neither do we want sensible gatekeeping nor do we believe digital media quality control is a thing. For instance, a top English daily defends content creators in the following lines: “New cybercrime law threatens to stifle social media dissent. Pakistan’s new social media-related cybercrime ordinance has drawn ire from civil society activists who say the “draconian” legislation is likely to be used against government critics.” Similarly, a top satellite channel in Pakistan glorified Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) when it threatened to quit Pakistan if the social media rules stayed. An independent think tank rates Pakistan poorly in terms of online freedom while noting that internet users in the country can face arrests, imprisonment and physical attack!

My question is did anyone of them talk about credibility, veracity, accuracy, precision and exactitude? Did they shed light on the bottleneck of subjects, social media content creators have created for themselves? Did they ever dare to emphasize the importance of realistic and contemporary media of innovation, technology, sciences and substance?

So where are we settling then?

Nowhere! We’re up to greet more exhibitionists flaunting at spineless conferences claiming fake reclamation of social media values, more 40-min zoom sessions, more papers full of red herring and more intertwines in our heads. As a result, we’re leading to growing discrepancies and contentions. Hitherto, we’ve done nothing but this!

May I dare to coin some recommendations?

The authorities must do fair gatekeeping, cordon off the noetic digital content creators and hall porter the influencers, but only if they could do it fairly. If the authorities deploy dishonest personnel with an agenda to grind someone’s axe, it shall only emasculate the purpose of the mission. A fair and square approach is a must. Meanwhile, an impartial body should decide if a person wanting to be a digital content creator holds a basic sense of ownership towards himself and his country. This doesn’t mean he should be judged upon his political inclinations or policy dialogue. It’s just that the filter should not let pass the radical elements.

I’m sure, things shall start looking good.

The writer is a research-based analyst and communication specialist from Islamabad. He can be reached at: mbilal.isbpk@gmail.com, FB/mbilal.16