What’s the digital cost of India’s elections?

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We’re in the middle of the world’s biggest election, and the battle to reach India’s 900 million voters is on every screen. Political parties are spending big money on digital strategy and social media marketing. Ads, trending hashtags, memes and influencers are all being used. But is all the investment worth it? Is it reaching the voters it should, and swaying political choices? And what about the dangers of fake news, misuse of data and hate speech? In this edition of WorklifeIndia, we speak to a popular actor turned politician, the public policy head of India’s own vernacular social network, and a digital marketer providing services to political parties and candidates. We ask whether digital campaigning is really a game changer, and what the election of the future looks like. Presenter: Devina Gupta Contributors: Gul Panag, actor, politician and entrepreneur; Berges Malu, public policy head, ShareChat; Kapil Gupta, digital marketer and CEO, OMLogic Image: Friends look at a digital tablet (Credit: Getty Images)