SOCIAL MEDIA, MISINFORMATION, AND PUBLIC TRUST: A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON DIGITAL INDIA

Abstract

The rapid growth of social media in India, propelled by the “Digital India” initiative, has brought both positive and negative transformations to the digital landscape. While social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter enhance connectivity and information dissemination, they also serve as conduits for misinformation, which poses risks to public trust in key institutions, including government, media, healthcare, and law enforcement. This research explores the relationship between social media use, misinformation, and public trust, using a secondary data analysis approach to evaluate existing studies, reports, and institutional data on misinformation trends, public trust metrics, and social behavior in India.
The study identifies prevalent types of misinformation, particularly in political and health contexts, and reveals the distinct vulnerabilities of platforms to misinformation due to their reach and user demographics. Findings indicate that misinformation erodes trust in institutions, affecting social cohesion and increasing polarization within India’s diverse digital society. Additionally, the study underscores the sociological implications of misinformation, such as threats to social stability and heightened skepticism toward authority figures. Key recommendations for managing misinformation include targeted government policies, platform accountability, media literacy programs, and cross-sector collaboration to enhance resilience against misinformation.
The research contributes to the field by emphasizing the need for digital literacy and regulatory frameworks tailored to India’s unique social media landscape. Future studies are encouraged to use primary data and longitudinal methods to capture evolving misinformation trends and their broader social impact. Overall, this paper aims to provide insights into mitigating misinformation’s adverse effects on digital trust, social stability, and institutional credibility in India.