Is Elon Musk influencing global opinion: Modulating minds, controlling society to capture global narrative

By Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

This post is about an influential man and it needs to be read, seriously. 

As we see how Elon Musk labels groups, cleverly re-packages his 'thoughts' and sell them to appear as 'patriotic' feelings or racial supremacism in order to influence minds, the extent of his actions are getting more clear and visible. 

It seems that Musk is doing it systematically--one group at a time, then next and so on. It is not fair.

Anyone who is otherizing communities, in a manner that it could drive a wedge in society, must be confronted. This is our job as a journalist. 

Just see his posts. There is a lot of exaggeration and the tweets that can create panic, turn groups against each other, revealing his thoughts about one group after the other group, in order to steadily strengthen his hold over narrative. 

Perhaps, there is a wish to control everything in the world--narrative, countries, people's opinion, power, be leader of wester world, and have his 'will' prevail over all. 

All the rhetoric that the Western White man likes to hear, is reflected in his posts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. It is deeply problematic and I feel that this must not happen at this level. 

My personal view is that a person who was once seen as a tech genius, working for overall good & an innovator, is now, seen as a person with deep racist hate. The manner in which he is generalizing and expressing his views about communities, is a tragedy. 

Right now, he appears to be possessed. Tears of kids in Gaza didn't seem to affect him & he supported Israel. Earlier, also, it was constant anti-immigrant rant from him, otherwise it is about the Blacks or Africans or the focus on 'border'. When he recently posted a black guy's video, it was seen as a dog whistle against Africans and the blacks.

My view and that of many others like me [though these may count or not, affect or not], is that xenophobia and hatred must be stopped. If there is extraordinary level, then we must be alarmed. It must be placed on record, mentioned and it must be known, lest it's forgotten that how a tech company owner who also builds cars, sends rockets to space, can come to this level.

The liking once a few had for him, even a cent of trust, all he has damaged himself. As he owns the platform, he uses it in a way, he wishes to use it. But it is not an ongoing Crusade or a civilizational war. It is really surprising that a person, who is himself an immigrant from South Africa, can be take such harsh anti-immigration line.

That too in US--the land of the immigrants. Influential people whose words can affect lives of people in other countries, as propaganda and hate do affect different sections of society. Majorities often blame minorities and peddle hate against the latter. These include conspiracy theories and misleading claims. 

That's the cause of concern for people in any country. Unfortunately, democracy too has failed to solve the issue. If majority in any sense--race, language, religion, class, community or section, is made to feel insecure because of 'growing minorities' or propaganda about the 'other', then the result is horrible.

Germany witnessed it in the last century. Hitler was an elected leader and a popular leader. The level of torture the children and women, suffer in Palestine, has been one of the worst in centuries and your point of view, is well-known.

Actually, it appears that 'Apartheid' or Nazi ideology pr White Supremacist belief can't be owned up at this level, so one after the other, targeting each group and otherizing in a way that it is seen as 'Patriotism' or MAGA mission. 

There may be 125,000 rapes in US and tens of thousands of murders in his own country. No one even needs to cherry pick, just start posting names and photographs of 200-300 of the rapists and murderers or serial killers and those who shot kids in schools, all will be clear. 

Who commits most crimes! But as he has 'reach', he can take a case of Haiti or a case of Honduras, push it daily, ensure that it reached millions, tens of millions.  

Man repackages apartheid, but separates it as 'anti-Black', 'anti-Muslim', 'anti-Africa' & 'anti-immigrant' sentiment, time to time, repackages, all disguised in patriotism or MAGA mission. No public personality can admit to be Hater, Racist, Zionist or Fascist, believer in Apartheid. 

So, he may play the game differently and pose as a patriot. Making other groups feel 'insecure' & on the basis of it, turning into a cult leader, strengthening his voice through conspiracy theories that have too much impact, and ultimate aim to have a huge bunch of followers, 'say' in world affairs, misusing his money and platform, ultimately to gain more and more money, prominence and power.

READ: Modulating Minds, Spreading prejudices, Elon Musk aims to control the world through global opinion?

Modulating minds, controlling global narrative: Is Elon Musk spreading prejudices, pushing a right-wing agenda to control masses' minds?

By Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

Billionaire and social media owner Elon Musk has come in for sharp criticism on internet. 

The man who didn't show much emotion when schools and hospitals were targeted in Gaza and tens of thousands were killed, but is now frantically pushing a divisive agenda.

As he owns an influential social media platform, X, [formerly Twitter], he is supposed to behave responsibly. But, he has lately been sharing controversial views, bordering on hate and having the potential to demonize entire communities. 

The racist and xenophobic overtones are clearly discernible. As he owns the platform, that can control a user's reach, his own tweets seem to have been exempt from any restriction and reach millions, giving him a disproportionate edge, over the rest. 

Not the Epstein island culprits, but brings other and old issues in other countries to raise fingers, intervene in other nations and subtly demonize entire groups, races and communities. 

Intervening in Germany, UK, hate against Africans, blacks, browns, Islamophobia, all is simple. Certain power block also helping him. Aim is to put pressure on the regimes and go for more and more control over the world?

One day, focus on an African in Europe, on the other day about England, not about the supremacist and school shooters or the skeletons in the cupboards of powerful people in own country. If the posts, tweets are seen carefully, it's mostly about race, religion and Asia-Africa, immigrants and 'otherizing' people. 

It becomes easy to control minds. It's possible to shift the people's focus off anything if you own media. If 10K whites are booked for offences in year, media has power to relegate to inside pages, but it can pick 10 offences by Black or Hispanic, immigrant or Muslim, splash on Page 1.

This will demonize, damage and devastate those communities, through negative portrayal. Misuse of a big social media platform, to term certain groups or communities as outsider or more prone to committing crimes, without giving data or mentioning statistics, is nothing less than brainwashing of the society. 

READ: Complete report on Elon Musk and his hateful posts, Islamophobia and racism

This is horrible. Many prominent personalities have noted how Musk has been going about, his posts going to the next level. If you have a billion or more audience on your platform and you post messages, endlessly, on a spree to push an agenda, it can create tremendous impact.    

"Am I detecting a continuous wave of Islamophobic comments and tweets from Elon the past few weeks or is it just me?", wrote Lady Velvet alias Hend F Q who uses the handle @LadyVelvet_HFQ. Just like her worry, many others have posted about the change in Musk's behaviour on X.

Will he realise. Can the world deal with it! Won't this lead to huge shift in public opinion and might pose grave thread to social ties, relations. Such careless demonizing can cause disturbance in societies on ethnic, racial and religious lines. It's not something that should be ignored. [The image is representative, AI generated]

WATCH THE SHORT VIDEO ON MUSK AND HIS ACTIONS

Urdu short story on Internet: How afsana, mini stories reach audience in the era of social media

 

On one hand, there is a fear that social media is affecting the print.

But on the other hand, it also provides opportunity to take your writings to a wider audience. 

As usual, there are pros and cons. Urdu readers and writers are using the new media to express themselves.

One of the biggest challanges is that Facebook is auto-translating posts.

Hence, if you write something in Urdu text from a region where Urdu is the not the first language, then for the reader it automatically translates it into Hindi or English or Kannada.

To deal with this, the best way is to write text and then post it in 'Image form'. 

Imagine, an eminent author wrote a long article in Urdu and on Facebook, it was translated in English by the social media network, extremely bad translation and even author's name was translated!

So, in order to deal with these issues and to ensure that not just the font is readable but also what you write, is visible to the reader, not some 'auto-translation'. On Twitter, there is a restriction--you can't post more than 280 characters, which means just 2-3 short sentences, hence, this is the way to tackle the restriction. 

So an afsaana or 'afsaancha' i.e. short story or mini story or any other creative work can be posted under the hashtag #Urdu and #UrduTwitter. As there is limit of 280 characters for a tweet, this is posted as an image file, and appears as photo, and hence even an entire short story fits in one tweet.

These are just a few examples of these short stories in Urdu.

You can read some of them under this hashtag at these links:

1. Jalwa dikhane ka shauq LINK

2. Aapki zabaan alag, Aapka culture alag LINK

3. Ansune naam, Anjaane log LINK

4. Qissa-e-Kitab LINK

5. Ye Urdu ke dost hain ya dushman LINK

6.  Whatspp group ka Sher  LINK

7. Fatihana muskurahat LINK

8. Woh be-imaan kaise ho sakta hai LINK

9۔ Yagya jaari hai LINK

10. Guzishta sadi ka Shahar. Khawab Kahani. LINK

Twitter faces backlash for allowing 'hate' on its platform in India, users ask it to act against hate, Islamophobia

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

Social media giant Twitter is facing a huge backlash in India.

It is because of the company's perceived failure to stop hateful messages and even allowing users who give 'calls for boycott and open discrimination' to remain on Twitter.

The accounts that trended in support of boycott of an entire community [Indian Muslims] were not blocked & even the objectionable trend was not removed, though trends inconvenient for Twitter are removed suddenly.

On the other hand, several accounts were suspended or blocked on flimsy grounds--like posting a phone number seeking help or for seeking blood for a patient. Senior lawyer Sanjay Hedge's account was suspended for reasons best known to Twitter.

But those abusing people freely, issuing threats or posting fake news remain active and there is no one stopping them from carrying on misinformation. Many of them even have 'verified' status. Already, Twitter is facing flak for its strange social media policy.

Bahujan activists have demanded transparency in its verification process. Today, Bhim Army members reached Twitter office to seek clarification over its policies and that why Backward, Tribal and Dalit leaders don't get 'verified'.

The reality is that over a period of two years, Twitter has said that its 'verification' process is on hold. However, people with little or no following and even those who have tweeted fake news repeatedly, keep getting the blue tick (verified), though there is no contact or email on Twitter's website.

No criterion or parameter is known. Mostly, the PR agencies or middle-men are engaged in the job to get people verified. However, allowing hate and fake news is a much more serious issue. Users who have repeatedly shared fake news that had the potential to disrupt communal harmony are not suspended or blocked.

Instead, if a person who is not aware of Twitter's policy that someone's phone number can't be shared, gets suspended even for trying to help someone who needs blood in emergency. Twitter hasn't said it openly and clearly about it and most users aren't aware.

STOP HATE: Citizens' statement against Twitter for failing to stop offensive content, hate

This has been a long-standing problem with Twitter in India. Users who have been sending messages that disrupt social harmony or abuse religious figures or go to the extent of call for complete boycott of an entire community, are not punished.

Isn't it shocking that people who say that Muslims ought to be economically insulated in India--clear incitement (that is against the law of the land too), and violates constitutional provisions, face no action on Twitter.

READ: How Twitter gives free run to fake news, serial hate peddlers on its platform

In the past, such propaganda, demonizing minorities and hate has led to Rwanda genocide. In recent years, we saw killings in Myanmar. Yet, Twitter fails to even act despite hundreds of people reporting these tweets.

Independent fact-checkers have repeatedly exposed the people who are misusing the platform. These tweets make way to people's phones through screenshots, in WhatsApp, and go to rural areas where there is no system to debunk them or find their veracity.

PETITION: Twitter must stop hate, Nazi style propaganda on its platform in India

Facing hatred, Muslims spread love, take teachings of Prophet Muhammad to millions on Twitter: Lessons from Prophet's Life

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

When a few misguided souls tried to spread hate by targeting Islam and Prophet Muhammad, Muslims responded with teachings of the Holy Prophet.

Innumerable Muslims responded on Twitter with love and kindness. They began sharing the teachings of the Prophet.

Within a few hours, Twitter was witnessing #ProphetofCompassion and #ProphetMuhammad trending on Twitter.

Tens of thousands of people were writing and millions saw it on their timeline. People who had little idea about teachings of Islam came to know about. That Prophet Muhammad was not just a messenger for Muslims, but for entire humanity.

[UPDATE: Again on Eid Miladun Nabi on November 10, again #KnowMuhammad was the top trend on Twitter in India with over 51,000 tweets till 10 pm.]

That how he abolished slavery, usury, ended apartheid, infanticide, discrimination of caste, colour, creed and gender and the message of Islam spread across the world. That no one was superior on the basis of birth and came up with right of inheritance and divorce for women.

Even providing legal contractual framework for marriages and divorces. Highest standards of justice, irrespective of faith of citizen. Protection to non-Muslims in Islamic societies. And we know apartheid and slavery remained legal in 'modern era' in the West till recently.

Prophet's sayings like, 'One must pay the worker his wages before his sweat dries' and how he treated adversaries, his worst enemies with kindness and mercy, reached those people who had little interaction with Muslims or Islam.

Muslims didn't choose harsh words to respond to provocative tweets that had started in the morning in India. Twitter hadn't even put a check on those tweets. But Muslims responded in a totally different manner.

The Prophet's quotes, his sayings, quotes from hadith and incidents of his life were narrated in tweets. In a tweet, I mentioned how Islam stresses on:

Justice. Equality. Kindness. Modesty. Charity.

Against discrimination of any form. Stand against oppression. Shun arrogance. Value of learning. Avoiding harsh language, hurting people. Teachings we grew up with & they must guide our lives.

Such focus on character, values. Even doing charity not looking at person in eye, lest we get sense of false pride. That even if you buy something for a poor man or servant, choose for him what you choose best (for yourself).

That's the way forward. We need to do more to ensure that Islamic values are reflected in our life. Rather than nitpicking and judging others, we must set example by imbibing the values and teachings in our lives.

Twitter users mentioned examples from Prophet's life like how a woman who used to throw garbage at him daily and when day she didn't throw it, the Prophet went to enquire about her health. This act of compassion overwhelmed her and changed the woman's life.

People said that how Hazrat Bilal was made the first muezzin, status to someone from black community when it was unthinkable, as apartheid continued till recent years and blacks face racial discrimination in US, West even today.

Not just Muslims, Hindus, Christians and people from other communities too cited examples of Prophet's teachings. Jagrati Sablok tweeted:

"A person asked Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) : Who is Most Deserving of Respect? He said: Your Mother. Person then asked: Who next? Your Mother, Prophet replied Again the person asked: Who next? Prophet said: Your Mother"

Some of the most tweets mentioning Islamic teachings and Prophet's sayings that were widely circulated on social media, are being mentioned here:

* The strongest among you is the one who controls his anger
* Do not waste water even if you were at a running stream
* Do not do evil to those who do evil to you, deal with them with forgiveness and kindness
* He is not a believer whose stomach is full while his neighbour goes hungry
* The best of you are those who are best to their women
* I and the one who looks after an orphan will be together like this in the next world.
* Feed the hungry, visit the sick, set free the captives
* A Muslim is the one that others are protected from his hand and tongue
* The best of houses is the house where an orphan gets love and kindness
* When you speak, speak with justice, even if it is against someone close to you
* Lucky is the woman whose first child is a daughter
* Be content and you will be the richest
* The best of you are those who are best to their women 
* An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab. A white has no superiority over a black (or vice versa) except by piety and good action.

SHAMEFUL: Twitter India promotes hate-content, Islamophobia in India, refuses to act against hate preachers

Social media giant Twitter has failed to act against 'verified' users spreading hate in India.

Contrary to its claims that it has been tough on hate speech, Twitter has not even bothered to take action against users who pour venom.

One of the examples is Abhishek Mishra, who openly gave a call for economic boycott of Muslims in India.

This is not just hate and Islamophobia, but also breaking the law of the land. You can't discriminate against a fellow Indian citizen, this is against constitution.

No one can exhibit-practice such bias on the basis of caste, colour, creed or community. Besides, the user's comment is punishable under 153, 505 and 295 (A) apart from other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). 

In fact, the user Abishek Mishra, (@Abhishek_Mishra) who is associated with Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has made controversial comments earlier also. He has been consistently spreading venom against minorities in India. However, he is a 'blue tick' guy--who has a verified account.

Despite numerous users reporting the tweet, Twitter hasn't taken action against it. From IP Patel to Madhu Kiswhar, there is a long list of people who indulge in propaganda, fake news and false information that has potential to disturb law-and-order.

Such behaviour emboldens others who in turn spread even more hate and spread Islamophobia. Clearly, Twitter India is complicit and its role in promoting-protecting such content, must be put on record.

Why I avoid Facebook fights, Twitter arguments: No I am not silent but there is a reason to not fall into this trap on social media

I no longer argue, in fact, I totally avoid Twitter debates or long Facebook arguments.

Issues remain the same even as years have passed, discussing them over and over again.

During 1990s, I remember how much I kept explaining & debating. Then for over a decade on this blog, I kept arguing & answering [issues remain same], eventually realised the futility.

Such was the hate pouring in that I had to shut the comments section in order to keep myself sane.

Now, this doesn't mean that we are going to get silent or not expose. But no point in arguing with anybody and the same issues that keep popping up after every few months.

One must speak, explain the position but certain things are so engrained & people don't want to accept. Those who argue, those who have the patience, must do it. I am not interested now, no urge left, feel too much energy is spent over it.

Ten yrs from now too, there'll be same debates over Vande Matram or Yoga, Bharat Mata or Saraswati Vandana. Sometimes it feels that this is a strategy, a trap too.

The moment you are in explanatory mode, you are on back foot and you explain things sincerely, the other guy would be ready with his list--now what about this!

Of course, it is important to speak on issues, understanding the importance of narrative building and speaking our mind freely, contradicting the false narrative. But not these arguments, engaging with anybody  who start questioning, has to gall to make any charge-allegation. NO.

READ: Right-wing trolls' strategy, how to avoid the trap

How to get your first 500 Twitter followers in just 5 days: Ten simple steps to get thousand followers in a month for free

This blog has been running for the last 15 years, and I rarely give social media tips.

However, as it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to get new followers on Twitter, here is a method.

There are many strategies that can be followed after you get your first hundred [100], 500 and 1000 followers. But how to get hundred or thousand followers?

That's an intelligent way, not a hack, but a perfectly legal system.

ONE Hundred followers in ONE day, Five Hundred Followers in FIVE days, Thousand in a MONTH, free, without buying followers, without spending a single penny or dollar or rupee

Read on:

1. You have a Twitter account and have barely 5, 20 and 50 followers in many months. You want more.

2. Go to the search box at the top, type the two letters as seen above 'follow back' and click on the search [lens sign]. Now there are various options, click on 'accounts'.

3. Chances are you will see 50-100 or even more accounts, most of them claiming that they 'follow back'. Just start following them in a go. It takes hardly 5-10 minutes. Now leave the place.

4. By the time you are back to yoour computer in an hour or six hours or 12 hours, most of them will have followed you back. Those who haven't, you can remind them, by a tweet, with @ as a prefix to the account.

5. As you follow back, more people will start following you. just follow everyone.

6. Once, this is over. Go to search again, type, 'I follow back', and search.

Now you will get another 100-150 accounts. Repeat the process and follow all. Most of them will follow back.

7. Hope you have 150-250 followers by now. That's sizeable and respectable figure. If you don't need such random followers, you just stop, as you have reached a good figure.

8. But if you want to reach 500 or 1000 followers first, before going for a serious Twitter experience, go ahead, search 'always follow back' and follow all the accounts you find.

9. Your followers' number has risen staggeringly by now, hopefully, unless you are too unlucky.

10. Be imaginative, try similar words and combinations, you will see that your Twitter following has increased sharply, drastically and significantly. Yes. Say thank you, like this page or share, if you liked this information, which nobody told you, before.

CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING A LOT OF FOLLOWERS.

*Later, when you want to purge, just check those who didn't follow, you can un-follow them.
*The accounts that are useless or tweet nonsense or send obscene photos or irritating stuff, you can simply 'mute' them, so that they remain in the list as your followers but won't bother you. 

Now it's ghettoisation on social media too: Hindu, Muslim ghettos on Facebook, Twitter

This post is about a trend I have noticed over the years--how people change drastically on social media.

Over a period of time, they create their own 'ghettoes' on the internet, avoid opposing views and end up isolating themselves from rest of the world.

Now there is nothing wrong about interacting with the like-minded but here it is not about people who share interest in tennis, gardening or literature.

Rather, it is about how people choose to interact with those who share similar ideology, then over a period of time their positions get hardened, they get more drawn towards those people, until they create their dream world--of all those who share their ideology.

There was a nice guy who was active on Twitter. In the initial years, he was friendly with people of all sections but then everybody felt he was getting irrational on certain issues. Ideology now prevailed over sane thoughts.

Now, he doesn't fight with the oldies but simply avoids the few of them, he still follows. Most of the time, he is busy fighting the 'Rest', leading an army of Twitter-walas of same ideology, who launch mercilessly attacks on those with diverse opinions, in order to create a world of their own liking.

It is not just about Hindus and Muslims, it is also about left-wing and right-wing, the 'sickulars' and the 'bhakts'. I have seen this affect their personality. This delusion that they have already created their utopian world on internet and are on way towards changing the world, reflects in their real life too.

Just see how these ghettos come up on social media, graduating from one level to another, until you are in the Ghetto.

1. A 'like' or 'Retweet' is an incentive on social media. Criticism is unwelcome, those who criticise aren't good guys, are they!

2. Even for irrational thoughts, there must be 'likes' and those who argue or question, aren't 'my friends'. So just ignore, avoid, block or unfriend the critics--just be in your comfort zone. [There is also the 'mute' button now on Twitter, so you don't un-follow them but their voice won't reach you]

3. Side with those who think like you. The are the real friends (even if many of them you never met on the street & they don't have real photos either]

4. You will like their post, they will promptly like yours, after all, you share the same 'great ideals'.

5. You are happy with those who 'like' your post, you drift towards them even more, get into that world.

6. On Twitter too, you un-follow those whose opinions are not in sync with your beliefs, except may be a few old friends.

7. You get heady feeling with more likes and RTs by those who think alike, you keep getting
immersed in your ideology--sectarian, communal, your positions get hardened day by day.

8. So now you are getting the dose which you want, any criticism, diverse thoughts or opposing idea are unwelcome and in any case these 'uncomfortable or irritating people' are not even reaching you now.  You have blocked or ignored or filtered them by now.

9. 'Those others' in your friend list or followers list are just tolerated, and you simply wish them on birthdays, anniversaries.

10. Of course you are talking publicly and you are on social media, but it is just like a caste-linguistic-religious ghetto where you are happy with your own kind, no diversity.
Now, you are in your dream world.

PS: Just check self, if you are into this ghettoisation, too? (everyone, including this blogger, must introspect)

[For those whom I observed, more on Twitter, going up in indoctrination levels within a few years]

Pay to get more Facebook 'likes', more 'followers' on Twitter: Unfair practices on social media?

Social media giants Facebook & Twitter have lately come up with similar plans for users who want 'greater clout' or 'more audience'.

If you pay money, you have the option to get more Facebook 'likes' and more Twitter 'followers'.

But is it fair? Content is not the king anymore.

Someone who has extra dollars or rupees, to spend, can use it for branding and get thousands of 'real or unreal' followers on Twitter.

Similar is the case with Facebook. Here, a person can 'buy' the 'likes' for his/her page. Where's the level-playing field on social media?

That's the fundamental question.

I don't feel it is fair. These companies initially had no such schemes but once they reached a level where they are opinion makers and dominate our lives, they have come up with these schemes.

Personally, I don't like it. It's like, you can't earn numbers or grades, so just pay for it. Is it fair? 

Take for example, movie personalities, TV persons, sport stars or anybody who came late on these platforms, and have less followers.

Or those who don't have anything interesting to share but feel upset that others have more likes or followers, can avail these schemes.

They can just pay money and get past the people who genuinely earned the following.

If you pay, Twitter shows your profile to many more people as 'suggested' in 'Who to Follow' advisory on the top right.

If you pay, your page is displayed to more people who are suggested by Facebook, to like the page.

On Facebook, you get option to target people in particular region or people of a particular age group.

We like it or not, Facebook and Twitter dominate our lives so much, that we have to live with it--their policies. They are here for business, aren't they. And that's what business is!!!

Big B, Khans ahead of Narendra Modi on Twitter: Bollywood beats cricket stars in list of Indian celebrities with most followers; Sachin Tendulkar left far behind

Who is the most popular Indian on Twitter? Big B, Amitabh Bachchan, has 13.2 million followers.

Bachchan was active on Twitter long before other celebrities took to it.

Second is Shahrukh Khan, the Badshah of Bollywood, with over 11.4 million or 1.14 crore people following him on this micro-blogging site.

Surprisingly, Aamir Khan comes after him with 11.2 million or 1.12 crore people following him. 'Dabangg' Salman Khan is fourth with 10.6 million or 1.06 crore people following him.

But PM Narendra Modi is giving them a tough competition. The Prime Minister of India has over 10 million followers (10.1) too, and this makes him a rare politician in Asia with such a huge number of followers on this social media platform.

Modi has more than 0.1 million followers now. The difference of one digit may seem less but there is still a difference of 3 million or 30 lakh with Big B and over 1 million or 10-14 lakh followers between him and King Khan.

In fact, earlier it was reported that Modi was second only to Barack Obama among politicians in terms of popularity on Twitter. India's huge population is definitely an asset for its movie personalities as well as its politicians.

Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra are also knocking at the door of the crore-pati [10 million followers] club on Twitter. Deepika has 9.5 lakh followers while Priyanka Chopra has 8.79 lakh. Then comes Hrithik Roshan [8.5 lakh]. Akshay Kumar is also in the line with 7.5 lakh people following him.

Tendulkar is not a crore-pati on Twitter yet: Bollywood beats God of Indian cricket

The general perception is that two things Indians love most is Bollywood and Cricket. But here, cricket seems to be lagging. The 'God' of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar has 5.07 million or over 50 lakh followers. Not a crore-pati on Twitter yet. Even Karan Johar has more followers that him. 

The exception is Virat Kohli, who has quickly reached 5.5 million. Given his popularity and that he is in full flow, he is likely to give a tough competition to other celebrities on the social media site.

Dhoni has 3.5 million or 35 lakh followers. My hero of yesteryear Sunil Gavaskar has less than 50,000 followers. Can there be anything more saddening? We all know that on Twitter, many inactive tweeple follow their celebrities, even if the latter rarely tweet.

But given the huge difference in following, it seems, cricket maniacs are less in number now. The movie stars are far ahead. Among politicians, once, Shashi Tharoor, was far ahead in popularity. But now, he is far behind, with 2.78 million or 27.8 lakh followers. Digvijaya Singh is close with over 25 lakh followers.


Twitter: The handles of these celebrities are mentioned below

List of the TOP TEN Indians on TWITTER

Celebrities               Twitter handle                          Number of followers

Amitabh Bachchan @SrBachchan                                        13.2 million  [1.32 crore]
Shahrukh Khan       @iamsrk                                                11.4 million  [1.14 crore]
Aamir Khan            @aamir_khan                                        11.2 million  [1.12 crore]
Salman Khan          @BeingSalmanKhan                             10.6 million  [1.06 crore]
Narendra Modi        @narendramodi                                    10.1 million  [1.01 crore]
Deepika Padukone  @deepikapadukone                                  9.5 million [95 lakh]
Priyanka Chopra     @priyankachopra                                     8.79 million [87 lakh]
Hrithik Roshan        @ihrithik                                                  8.51 million [85 lakh]
Askhay Kumar        @akshaykumar                                        7.54 million [75.4 lakh]
Karan Johar             @karanjohar                                            5.6  million [56 lakh]
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Virat Kohli              @iamvkohli                                               5.5 million [55 lakh]
Sachin Tendulkar    @sachin_rt                                               5.07 million [50.7 lakh]
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Arvind Kejriwal       @arvindkejriwal                                   3.63 lakh
Dilip Kumar            @TheDilipKumar                                 3.36 lakh
MS Dhoni                @msdhoni                                          3.52 lakh

The leaders are mostly movie stars, politicians or, yes, some cricketers. The rabble-rousing politicians (the names which may come to your mind) have followers in thousands only.

[Just the most popular personalities with highest following on Twitter have been mentioned. Not all celebrities have been mentioned here. The statistics are till February 15, 2015]