It would be an honour if you were associated with us.... (silence)... obviously you will be paid accordingly."
This is what Shreya (name changed), an entrepreneur based in Maharashtra, was told by a leader of a national political party. No, he did not want her to join the party — at least not 'on paper' — he wanted to 'recruit' her.
This is what Shreya (name changed), an entrepreneur based in Maharashtra, was told by a leader of a national political party. No, he did not want her to join the party — at least not 'on paper' — he wanted to 'recruit' her.
If you have an impressive CV, you can earn a million this election season. You just need to learn the art of trolling.
So, what is political trolling? According to a popular online dictionary, it is the act of using emotions, lies, false accusations and broken logic to undermine your opponent and win an argument in a political arena. This often involves twisting various sources, such as religion, to look like they say that your views are right. Motives include, but are not limited to: For money, power, fun and for the lulz.
Political parties like to call such people 'volunteers'. All you need is a decent amount of 'followers' on social media, command over language, willingness to promote your party's ideology (without asking too many questions) and most importantly the ability to troll your rivals to no end.
Shreya, who joined social media website Twitter a little over a year ago, was approached by both Congress and BJP workers to 'work' for them. The reason they wanted her - she was an 'independent' voice.
Translation: She was expected to help propagate political parties' philosophy and policies on the social media. Since she is not associated with any political party and given her decent background, tweeple wouldn't have questioned her motives.
She is not the only one. Arjun (name changed), a medical professional based abroad, who actively tweets on different topics was also approached by a national political party's youth wing leader.
Arjun, who joined Twitter in 2010, started actively tweeting in June 2011 - primarily sharing his views music, sports, recent events, life and politics. His tryst with political trolls started the day he tweeted some information abouta political leader.
As Arjun started taking these trolls head on, he realized that his follower count was increasing dramatically. It didn't take long for some prominent political leaders to start 'following' him and engaging in chats with him. After his tweets got featured on a television debate, he was approached by the 'recruiters'.
Their proposition was very simple. He was asked to write blogs promoting the party's agenda and policies. In return, he was promised up to Rs 10,000 or more per blog depending on the word limit. While journalists are often termed as 'paid media', concept of 'paid trolls' is still considered to be an urban myth.
Political parties are now adopting aggressive strategies to attack and counterattack each other on the social media.
Passing the buck
"It is impossible. An official AICC member would never indulge in this," claims Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha. When counterquestioned he admits that 'very very few people' are being paid to research and write official blogs for Congress.
So, what is political trolling? According to a popular online dictionary, it is the act of using emotions, lies, false accusations and broken logic to undermine your opponent and win an argument in a political arena. This often involves twisting various sources, such as religion, to look like they say that your views are right. Motives include, but are not limited to: For money, power, fun and for the lulz.
Political parties like to call such people 'volunteers'. All you need is a decent amount of 'followers' on social media, command over language, willingness to promote your party's ideology (without asking too many questions) and most importantly the ability to troll your rivals to no end.
Shreya, who joined social media website Twitter a little over a year ago, was approached by both Congress and BJP workers to 'work' for them. The reason they wanted her - she was an 'independent' voice.
Translation: She was expected to help propagate political parties' philosophy and policies on the social media. Since she is not associated with any political party and given her decent background, tweeple wouldn't have questioned her motives.
She is not the only one. Arjun (name changed), a medical professional based abroad, who actively tweets on different topics was also approached by a national political party's youth wing leader.
Arjun, who joined Twitter in 2010, started actively tweeting in June 2011 - primarily sharing his views music, sports, recent events, life and politics. His tryst with political trolls started the day he tweeted some information abouta political leader.
As Arjun started taking these trolls head on, he realized that his follower count was increasing dramatically. It didn't take long for some prominent political leaders to start 'following' him and engaging in chats with him. After his tweets got featured on a television debate, he was approached by the 'recruiters'.
Their proposition was very simple. He was asked to write blogs promoting the party's agenda and policies. In return, he was promised up to Rs 10,000 or more per blog depending on the word limit. While journalists are often termed as 'paid media', concept of 'paid trolls' is still considered to be an urban myth.
Political parties are now adopting aggressive strategies to attack and counterattack each other on the social media.
Passing the buck
"It is impossible. An official AICC member would never indulge in this," claims Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha. When counterquestioned he admits that 'very very few people' are being paid to research and write official blogs for Congress.
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