Clickbait cruelty: How social media silences truth

Time of India

03-05-2025

By: Maala Parvathi
Arathy Menon, daughter of N Ramachandran, who was killed in the recent Pahalgam terror attack, was forced to endure a second, more insidious wave of trauma—this time, not from terrorists but from the digital mob. After speaking to the media and thanking two Kashmiri drivers, who helped her family during the crisis, Arathy found herself in the crosshairs of
social media trolls
.
Her calm demeanour was mocked. She was accused of using the tragedy for publicity, insulted for not crying on camera, and targeted with communal slurs simply for expressing gratitude to Muslim men. Her appearance was dissected, her choice of clothing questioned, and her language ridiculed. The abuse she faced was swift, vicious, and deeply personal—an avalanche of hate disguised as public opinion.
Her grace under grief didn't fit the script that many expected, and for that, she was vilified. In today's hyperconnected world, this kind of collective cruelty has a name:
Verbal lynching
. It's not new, but it's growing. Fuelled by outrage, amplified by algorithms, and legitimized by silence, it is becoming a defining feature of digital discourse—especially in Kerala, where social media and public commentary are intensely intertwined.
In a state deeply plugged into platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and WhatsApp, even a small mistake or a misunderstood comment can quickly spiral into viral outrage. What once might have been a personal or legal issue now becomes a public spectacle. Anyone—from an ordinary citizen to a public figure—can be targeted overnight. The backlash comes swiftly: Abusive comments, doctored content, and viral posts that can destroy reputations within hours.
What fuels this is not just anger, but attention-seeking and a rush of validation. Social media offers instant rewards—likes, shares, applause—for expressing moral outrage. Unfortunately, this outrage is often based on half-truths or complete misinformation. With little effort to verify facts, people react emotionally, and the damage is done long before any truth can catch up.
Some media outlets add fuel to this fire. In their race for viewership and clicks, sensationalism often trumps accuracy. Individuals are framed as villains through selective editing, misleading headlines, or provocative social media 'cards.' These curated snapshots, often devoid of full context, are designed to provoke. The result? People are reduced to caricatures, judged not for who they are, but for how they're portrayed in a moment of outrage.
This demonisation has serious consequences. Reputations are shredded, careers collapse, and mental health suffers. The emotional toll is immense—shame, fear, anxiety, and, in extreme cases, suicidal thoughts. For many, the experience of being verbally lynched online can feel just as traumatic as real-world persecution.
Worse, this trend silences genuine dialogue. People grow afraid to speak their minds, fearing that an honest opinion could be taken out of context and used against them. The space for disagreement and debate shrinks. In its place, we get conformity driven by fear and a reluctance to challenge the majority view.
The threat goes beyond individuals. Online mob justice deepens social divides, often along communal or ideological lines. When misinformation targets specific communities, it feeds prejudice and fuels an 'us vs them' mentality. Words of hate, even disguised as moral outrage, normalize intolerance and dehumanize others. Over time, this environment can lead to real-world hostility—even violence.
The challenge of sensationalism isn't limited to the media alone. It's also about how we, as consumers, respond. Many of us contribute to the noise by reacting too quickly, without checking facts or considering the impact of our words. Social media algorithms thrive on outrage, and we feed them with every comment and share.
To move forward, we need a collective shift. As individuals, we must learn to pause before reacting—verify information, consider alternative viewpoints, and respond with empathy. Schools and universities must teach media literacy and critical thinking. We need to raise a generation that can distinguish between opinion and fact, outrage and justice.
Media houses, too, must take responsibility. They must resist the lure of sensationalism and commit to fairness, balance, and factual reporting. Social media platforms must strengthen policies against harassment, misinformation, and hate speech.
Ultimately, justice must be rooted in truth and compassion. While holding people accountable is important, it should never come at the cost of human dignity.
(The writer is a film actor & psychologist)