Since the past few months, Manipur—the bowl-shaped valley in India’s north-east region—is seeing ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities after the state high court recommended Schedule Tribe status to the former.

According to Reuters, as of July 28, the violence has claimed the lives of 181 people, 300 injured, and approximately 54,488 internally displaced. However, according to a statement issued by 102 journalists with South Asian Women in Media (SAWM), there was “little reporting of Manipur by mainstream TV channels”, and the news that did come out was a tailored narrative largely written by the dominant Meiteis who owned prominent media houses.

But everything changed post-July 19 when a May 4 video of two Kuki women (THE video) being paraded naked and being molested by a mob went viral.

This, thus begs the question: What Role Can A Viral Image Play In Ensuring Justice?

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Viral photos, videos emblematic of certain events

Photojournalist Prashant Panjiar said that over the course of history, there are some photos that have come to “signify” particular events, movements, or incidents.

Giving examples, Panjiar said Eddie Adams’ photo – ‘Saigon Execution’, showing a South Vietnamese general executing a Viet Cong captain and Associated Press (AP) photographer Nick Ut’s photo of the Napalm Girl became emblematic of the Vietnamese War.

“These two images are credited as some of the reasons why the Americans lost the war at home,” Panjiar added.

Cyber Psychologist and Psychotherapist Nirali Bhatia said that while the Manipur viral video exemplifies the powerful impact of viral images/videos, serving as catalysts for change and amplifying issues, it also highlights our dependence on them to recognize the gravity of certain matters.

“Unfortunately, it took the video going viral for attention to be drawn to this serious case, which had already occurred days prior, Bhatia told BOOM.

Panjiar said before the viral video, there were images in print media and later videos through electronic media. The photojournalist explained that there was a certain element of censorship, filters and fact-checking when media outlets reported on news.

“A newspaper or channel would certainly not have showcased the video in its entirety or run images of the women being paraded naked. On Social Media, you do not have any such filter. These videos are viral on platforms and in your WhatsApp,” Panjiar added.

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Viral video triggered SC intervention & national outrage

Since the video has gone viral several developments took place in quick succession. Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the issue since the ethnic clashes began; Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the violence even as it was hearing pleas seeking relief; NHRC issued notice to the Manipur government; Opposition MPs took to the streets demanding a discussion in the Parliament’s Monsoon Session; Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted a notice for a no-confidence motion filed by Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi; and Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar accepted Leader of House Piyush Goyal’s motion to discuss the Manipur violence in the upper house.

The Supreme Court on July 31 acknowledged that its intervention on issues pertaining to the Manipur violence was a direct result of THE viral video.

“That one video triggered a national outrage, and the immediate intervention of the court,” CJI DY Chandrachud said on July 31 when it was hearing pleas by the two women seen in the video.

Until then, the Supreme Court was taking a cautious approach while hearing pleas by the Manipur Tribal Forum seeking evacuation of the tribals who had fled to CRPF camps in Manipur and ensure security in the region.

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Do viral videos bring justice or fuel misinformation?

The ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur is a stark reminder of the power of visuals in exacerbating a crisis through misinformation but also its effectiveness in drawing attention to the grave abuses suffered by residents in the North-Eastern state.

The tale of viral images, or videos, is also one of caution. In recent times, viral videos and photos have earned notoriety for fueling misinformation and disinformation targeting already marginalized communities. At their best, they can put the spotlight on unreported crimes and abuse forcing state machinery out of its stupor.

Prashant Panjiar said viral images or videos on social media itself is problematic because of its “propensity for fake news” and misinformation. “One would not believe everything that comes on social media,” he said. “It’s a double-edged sword. It is tricky,” Panjiar added.

Between May 3 and July 19, the violence in Manipur was partly fueled by misinformation – made worse by the months-long internet shutdown. The fake news where an old photo from Delhi of a woman's dead body wrapped in plastic was peddled with the claim that it was the body of a Meitei woman who was sexually assaulted and killed by members from the Kuki tribe was the trigger for a spate of “revenge rape”. This included the case of the two Kuki women who were paraded naked.

The Manipur case is one of the few examples where a viral video prompted immediate action. Within 10 hours of the video going viral, Manipur police arrested the prime accused and three others—77 days after the incident took place, and 63 days after the zero FIR was registered.

So does a viral image bring justice? Or does it fuel misinformation? There is no definitive answer to this question. If not for concrete action, viral videos/images on social media definitely spark the beginning of a conversation.

“Certain viral images on social media depict reality. But in certain cases, it can also instigate,” Senior advocate Anand Grover told BOOM. “That’s why one must be very careful when they share viral videos that show extreme violence or rage. Not everything can be put on social media, there must be some balance,” he said.

Journalist Makepeace Sitlou said before the ethnic clashes began in Manipur, she had not seen so much engagement from Manipuris on social media.

“There were many photos/videos from Manipur before THE viral video came out. Before then the Manipur violence was largely ignored by mainstream media. However, even after the video went viral, I have found that the response to it has been token,” Sitlou said, adding that people’s outrage over the video was also limited to one specific crime.

“Parading a woman naked was not about crimes against women, it was about putting a community in its place. This lipservice, or tokenism does more injustice, it doesn’t help in the long run,” she said. “A single video cannot address the nuances of a situation,” the journalist told BOOM.

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Social media as a witness in today’s times

At this juncture, social media is the most used media owing to its 24/7 nature, ex-Amensty India head Avinash Kumar told BOOM. Agreeing with Panjiar on the photos becoming defining moments, Kumar, a Distinguished Fellow at Delhi’s Centre for Equity Studies, said that in today’s context, social media has also become politicized, ghettoized and is a space where extreme positions can be taken rather quickly!

“With the infiltration of digital in our lives, the question of whether social media posts can be used as evidence is otiose,” senior advocate Pinky Anand told BOOM.

“The Court cannot deny all evidence that is available online since much of its causes of action arise from what is available online. Therefore, admissibility must be legal. However, there must be sensible regulation of such evidence when it comes to corroboration and probative value attached to it, especially in light of its vulnerability to morphed, false, mala fide, and impersonated content, Anand said. “The law has to take its course, it has to protect the ends of justice and of constitutional morality,” she added.

However, the virality of an image or a video is not enough, Kumar stated. The Manipur violence was going on for three months before the video became viral, he said, adding that’s why social media alone—though bearing witness—cannot have an impact.

“Issues need to be backed by offline people to people engagement, otherwise it will be rather difficult to recreate an environment of trust,” Kumar said. To prove his point, Kumar referred to Amnesty reports which relied on forensically examined videos that were viral on social media to prepare its report on police culpability during the 2020 Delhi Riots.

Kumar said there is a need to adapt to a new reality that incorporates social media. It’s a can’t live with it, can’t live without situation, he said. Social media allows for the existence of a reality alternate to that of what a State narrates, he added.

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Society is suffering from compassion fatigue

So where do viral images like these find themselves? BOOM asked Nithya J Rao, a rehabilitation psychologist. “Wherever we put them, Rao said. Viral images will find themselves wherever we slot the 'Trojan Heart'. It may find themselves chronicled in war crimes, or in angry letters written to students, in political movements led by the young and the youth…, she added.

One must assess the psychological impact of social media and viral videos/photos/news, on an individual level, at a community level, and large-scale society level because for each of these, the effect is different, Rao said. 

Rao, co-founder – Heart It Out, said no matter what happens, notwithstanding the content, issues connect with different people in different ways. For example, the viral video from Manipur would affect sexual assault survivors differently than others. It could also connect with people who have been embarrassed in public, or even those who couldn’t protect the people they cared about – which is like what the husband of one of the survivors was talking about, Rao added.

So an image not only does the damage that it does to people, it also has layers of impact. Outrage, and shame – especially for younger members of society, Rao said.

But how much outrage can one absorb? Rao said. What can citizens do every time a video or a photo goes viral? she added.

There is so much burden on citizens to respond. But there is so much apathy in the society as well. Society and its people are currently suffering from compassion fatigue which has been accelerated by social media. How much can one care? You care for the climate, for the society what all can you care about. You are all tapped out of caring, Rao said.

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