New Delhi: On Monday, the live stream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the inaugural session of Governor’s Conference on National Education Policy Monday saw a response that seems to be becoming a trend with his online videos — dislikes dominating likes.
The video saw 12,000 dislikes against 11,000 likes during the live stream. Over the next couple of hours, the likes figure surged ahead, but just about.
This came on the back of two worse occurrences over the last week.
The PM’s monthly address Mann Ki Baat on 30 August and then his interaction with IPS probationers later garnered a similar response, with the former topping the dislike metric among his videos at a staggering 283,000 (against 211,000 likes). The latter met with 29,000 dislikes (28,000 likes).
This trend of growing dislikes compared to likes is clearly discernible in the wake of the NEET-JEE controversy, which has seen vocal students call for postponement of the scheduled exams this month even as the Modi government has refused the demand.
ThePrint scanned 105 videos live streamed this year on the official YouTube channel of PM Modi — not to be confused with the PMO India channel. Only the two videos mentioned above have earned more dislikes — both came after the row broke out.
Of these, the Mann Ki Baat episode is the most disliked (as well as liked) on the channel, with the highest number of ratings. In the address, which can be read here, the PM chose not to talk about the NEET-JEE row, or the students’ demand.
While this kind of response is a sort of novelty on the PM’s official channel, the BJP has blamed the Congress for a “conspiracy” to target the channel.
BJP spokesperson Bizay Sonkar Shastri said it is an organised Congress conspiracy, and most of the dislikes are from outside India, even from countries where there is no presence of Indians.
Earlier, the party’s IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya had said that only 2 per cent of the dislikes on the Mann Ki Baat video were from India, the rest 98 per cent were bots, pinning the blame on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Over the last 24hrs, there has been a concerted effort to dislike Mann Ki Baat video on YouTube… So low is the Congress on confidence that it has been celebrating it as some sort of conquest!
However, data from YouTube suggests that only 2% of those dislikes are from India…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 31, 2020
Also read: Subramanian Swamy attacks Amit Malviya, calls for sacking of BJP IT cell members
The changing trend
Typically, the official Narendra Modi page live stream videos receive more likes than dislikes. Even in live streams that have thousands of dislikes, the likes always outweigh them.
For instance, a live stream video on “PM Modi performs Bhoomi Pujan for Ram Mandir in Ayodhya” has 26,000 dislikes, but that’s only one-fifth of 1,58,000 likes.
The PM’s July Mann Ki Baat has 20,000 dislikes, just over half of 39,000 likes.
Even a live stream from last week where the PM delivered a keynote address at US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, has 35,000 likes and 25,000 dislikes.
However, the proportion of dislikes on Mann Ki Baat addresses seems to be growing. The April Mann Ki Baat had 42,000 likes but only 2,500 dislikes.
It is rare for Modi’s live streams to cross 10,000 dislikes. Only 12 videos of the 105 live streams ThePrint scanned had 10,000 or more dislikes.
Besides the examples noted above, the dislikes crossed the 10,000-mark for a couple of live streams during US President Donald Trump’s visit to India in February. In the live stream on “PM Modi addresses the Namaste Trump community programme in Ahmedabad”, there are 18,000 dislikes and 1,75,000 likes.
With inputs from Shanker Arnimesh
Also read: Non-personal data rules draft has ‘grey areas’, data privacy bill architect BN Srikrishna says
Considering the fake promises of acche din, Indians have finally given up on the thought that the PM really means what he says, can’t fool people too long,using a fake spiritual guise for staying in power.
There is truth in what BJP IT Cell has commented regarding the dislikes.Cong is desperate to dislodge PM Modi by hook,crook or any act of treachery.Its desperation & lust for power has exposed its hollowness,lack of vision,roadmap,lack of faith in sonia family & their leadership.Cambridge Analytica was one,now this dislikes fraud besides being agents for pak & china
Amit Malviya’s comment amusing, when Congress’s support is declining, how can they get so many to simply dislike. I am apolitical, if i dislike means it that’s it whether Modi, Rahul or anyone. Who is Malviya. If he wants, for every one dislike,he can add 20 likes. How does it matter.
The print is full of idiots…..Whose sole aim is to oppose hindu supported bjp…….Well they should at least check the facts……The dislikes came from Turkey and pakistan…….Show some sense
Now people have come to know the real modi.
If what BJP is saying is true, only 2% of the dislikes are from India, then it is more about Congress than about BJP. The article should have investigated that claim by BJP.
Believe me, if Congress continues this way they shall be saturated in 2024 elections.
As usual, an important detail is buried deep inside the text “………only 2 per cent of the dislikes on the Mann Ki Baat video were from India, the rest 98 per cent were bots”. This is the key. The Congress along with their Chinese buddies and Paki lowlife lapdogs are resorting to cheap underhand tactics.
So if the writer thinks that these dislikes are real and spontaneous, then my best wishes. Congress is completely discredited in the eyes of Hindus. We may be angry with Modi but voting for Rahul is still unthinkable.
Rahul Kanwal should do another MOTN survey to cheer everyone up.
Good that even BJP become disillusion party now when congress was in power they were in disillusion in towards the end of their term.
If congress were capable of doing this “dislike” things definitely they wouldn’t waited for six years.