Computational Propaganda in Pakistan: Political Manipulation through X (Twitter)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62843/jrsr/2025.4d140Keywords:
Computational Propaganda, Pakistan, PTI, PML-N, JI, PPP, Veles Model, Gig Economy, Political Manipulation, Hashtags, BotsAbstract
This paper examines computational propaganda use in creating political narratives in Pakistan via platform X. The research compares the strategies adopted in Pakistan, which are the rivalry among mainstream political parties of Pakistan viz-a-viz Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People Party (PPP) and Jamat-e-Islami (JI), which is against established models in Russia and the U.S. The results indicate that the digital environment of Pakistan has been transformed into a hybrid between the Russian state-sponsored model and the Macedonian commercial model. PTI uses an industrialised approach that is marked by the centralised Cyber Forces, and the use of automated bot networks and hiring of party-funded influencers that include paid teams. PML-N has an organic latency, and it is based on institutional engagement, which is reminiscent of traditional grassroots campaigning in the U.S. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) is an extremely organised ideological model of volunteerism, whereas the Pakistan People Party (PPP) exhibits a combination of individual activists and paid groups during large-scale campaigns. The study finds that commercialisation of dissent, whereby political participation is motivated by money, as opposed to ideology, forms a digital mirage that misrepresents the opinion of the masses and weakens democratic transparency.
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