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फॉलोवर्स का खेल || आचार्य प्रशांत, वेदांत महोत्सव (2022)
116.8K views
2 years ago
Social Media Influencers
Reach
Politics
Money
Truth
Bhagavad Gita
Evil
Description

Acharya Prashant responds to a question about the trend of social media influencers entering politics despite lacking knowledge in the field. He begins by stating that the questioner already knows the answer: nothing good can come from this, and it is a matter of action, not just asking. He explains that these influencers gain their position by spreading toxic and addictive content. Since filth spreads faster, they become "influencers," and their posts acquire a price. Acharya Prashant elaborates that because these influencers have a wide reach, they get a place in politics. He predicts that in the 2024 elections, these influencers will be "auctioned off" to politicians who need their reach. The easiest way for a politician to gain reach is to pay an influencer with millions of subscribers to post or tweet for them. He calls this a dangerous game of reach, where the worst people often have the most influence. He foresees that by 2024, all such influencers will be politically aligned, either by selling out or through intimidation. When asked what educated people without reach can do, Acharya Prashant says they must build their own reach, as there is no other option. He describes it as a "battle for man's mind," and without reach, one cannot influence or cleanse it. He acknowledges that this is an "ugly option," where the focus shifts to metrics like subscribers and followers. He shares his own strategy: since he cannot approach people as a friend, he approaches them as someone they can hate, because people pay attention to both what they like and what they dislike. He says the best way for him to increase reach is to speak the truth, which many will hate and spread, allowing the message to also reach those who can understand. He concludes that even this method is not very effective and ultimately, the game is about money. While others get money from their reach, he has to invest all his money to gain reach. He points out that the best talent in the world often serves evil because "evil is a great paymaster." He gives the example of Twitter, a self-proclaimed liberal platform, being bought by someone with regressive views, yet its "modern, open-minded" employees do not resign because of the money. He says that for this reason, his own account will likely be deleted.