‘Televising our revolution’: India’s Gen Z flips Modi’s social media game

In India, a new generation of young people is leveraging social media to broadcast their protests, effectively flipping Prime Minister Narendra Modi's own digital strategy against him. This movement, driven by Gen Z, is using platforms like Instagram to share raw, unfiltered footage of alleged police excesses during recent demonstrations.

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I saw policemen brutally beating up unarmed girls and peaceful children.

One 18-year-old protester, Avanshika Singh, described filming chaos amidst tear gas during a march that brought New Delhi to a standstill. The July 20 protest, demanding the education minister's resignation over examination paper leaks, saw tens of thousands occupy central roads. Police crackdowns reportedly injured over 100 students.

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Today, we rang Parliament’s doorbell and ran.

"This is the only thing anyone is talking about. If nothing, we are televising our revolution," Singh told Al Jazeera. "The entire country today feels the sting of batons and tear gas with us." The rapid-fire edits, memes, and expletives flooding the internet offer a stark contrast to the government's narrative, which has denied allegations of excessive force.

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This is the only thing anyone is talking about. If nothing, we are televising our revolution. The entire country today feels the sting of batons and tear gas with us.

This digital counter-offensive is a significant shift, as Modi himself pioneered the use of social media to reach the masses when he rose to power 12 years ago. Now, the Bharatiya Janata Party's dominance on social platforms is being challenged by the very tools it once championed. "Hating Modi is cool on the internet now, after years of criminalising dissent," Singh added, before joining chants for the Prime Minister to step down.

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Hating Modi is cool on the internet now, after years of criminalising dissent.