Sonal Mehrotra is a Senior Correspondent with NDTV 24x7.
We all know the rules of the game when it comes to social media, especially the immensely popular Facebook and Twitter. As much as they play a role in democratising information- sharing and enabling instant access to latest developments, things often get out of control and it becomes difficult to separate fact from fiction.
As a television journalist, who uses these social networking tools everyday as part of my job, I am well aware of their power - the power to assist and inform, as well as the power to disrupt and ruin. I have received many insults and brickbats online- that is par for the course.
But what happened this week has left me shocked and seething with anger. On a busy afternoon yesterday, in the middle of tracking developments on my news beat, I received a picture message in my Facebook inbox from a friend. The image suggested I was the young student who, during an interview of IMF chief Christine Lagarde on NDTV 24X7, asked a question that created a storm on social media.
#ndtvgirlasks was trending heavily. The student was trolled with relentless venom for asking if the benefits of growth in India would be limited to Hindu males because 'with the new government coming in we're noticing some disturbing trends of forces of communalism and patriarchy entering the economy.'
Some political and religious zealots vented their disapproval by inspiring that NDTV had used me, a reporter, to ask the question.
Even a fleeting glance at the student would reveal zero resemblance between her and me. But why should this trivial technicality come in the way of a 'made-to-malign' campaign against an independent and objective news organisation?
Soon, I was flooded with hundreds of tweets and replies and memes that can be safely called ignorant and obnoxious: I was called a prostitute, an illegitimate child, my ovaries were cursed.
Tweet after tweet calling me names, questioning my upbringing and my family, insulting my school and native place were hurled at me. Some even went to the extent of saying how i was unfit to be a news reporter.
Despite I issuing a clarification and blocking over a 100 Twitter handles, the business of abuse has not stopped.
Two young women are being attacked, their character is being questioned. Is this what we believe in as discourse?