In recent times, researchers have examined the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s use of social media to directly connect with his followers, while largely shunning the mainstream media. This strategy of direct communication with their constituents has been adopted by other political parties too, with opposition party leaders hosting ‘Facebook Live’ sessions and tweeting their messages. A large proportion of Indian voters, who increasingly own mobile phones, are enjoying being part of the ‘like’ and ‘share’ online networks. What does this effective use of social media by Indian political parties mean for the public discourse in India? This article presents the view that this phenomenon is more than Modi’s ‘selfie nationalism’ or his attempt to marginalize the news media. The article argues that there is a structural shift in the Indian public sphere, which might prove to be the greatest challenge to Indian journalism.

中文翻译：

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印度新闻业能否经受住社交媒体的冲击？

最近，研究人员研究了印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪 (Narendra Modi) 使用社交媒体与他的追随者直接联系的情况，同时在很大程度上避开了主流媒体。这种与选民直接沟通的策略也被其他政党采用，反对党领导人主持“Facebook Live”会议并在推特上发布信息。越来越多拥有手机的印度选民中，有很大一部分很享受成为“喜欢”和“分享”在线网络的一部分。印度政党有效使用社交媒体对印度的公共话语意味着什么？本文提出的观点认为，这种现象不仅仅是莫迪的“自拍民族主义”或他试图将新闻媒体边缘化。