INFODEMIC: A CASE STUDY OF TRUTH DECAY IN PAKISTAN

This paper examines Infodemic and Truth Decay in Pakistan’s social and political spheres. The rise of social media ended the traditional media’s monopoly in Pakistan’s information ecosystem. The democratisation of content production and its distribution are the defining features of the new social media-dominated information landscape. However, this information architecture threatens to disrupt the social and political fabric of society by systematically eroding the truth and trust in state institutions. Algorithms running social media are developed to boost sensational content without considering editorial review, reliability, and accuracy. This provides an opportunity for internal and external actors to manipulate public opinion, creating new fault lines and generating dissonance on matters of national security. This paper explores the dynamics between infodemics, truth decay, and their negative impacts on the state and society. This study suggests that unregulated social media causes subversion of democratic processes, societal and political polarisation, threats to national security and social cohesion, and declining trust in state institutions. Therefore, this paper proposes a multi-layered approach to countering these issues in Pakistan and offers recommendations to protect Pakistan’s information architecture and to build a more resilient society.