social media in sri lanka: do science and reason stand a chance? - nalaka gunawardene, 9 sep 2016

nalakagunawardene.com

Social Media in LKA:Do Science & Reason stand a chance?

By Nalaka GunawardeneScience Writer & New Media Researcher

Keynote address atScience, Technology & Society Forum

#STSLkaColombo, Sri Lanka: 9 Sep 2016


Coming up… Headline figures on web & social media users Diversity of social media types in Sri Lanka Global Cacophony: join & engage or avoid? Science vs. Pseudoscience & Anti-Science:

battle has now extended to social media! Which side is winning in Lankan social media? What can scientists & science communicators

do to promote rational discourse online?


Like it or not…Social Media now part of Lankan life!

Selfie taking during massive rains and floods in mid May 2016


Social Media:Now part of our comm. landscape


Social media: Many types/functions


How many SM users in LK? 3.5 million Facebook subscribers by Nov 2015

(www.internetworldstats.com/asia.htm) Suspected: 10-20% FB accounts ‘fake’? Some multiple accounts by same person too 119,000 Twitter users by Dec 2015

FACT: Social Media use rising every year REALITY: Most don’t use SM for more than simple

chatting…


Lankan blogospheres Blogs: part of social media landscape Blogging active in LKA in Sinhala, Tamil, English No of bloggers: varies, but 2,000+ They cover EVERY aspect of LKA life, incl:

‘Taboos’ largely avoided by mainstream (e.g. caste factor in society; LGBT rights)

Critiques of ‘Sacred Cows’ (clergy, military) Leading bloggers command loyal, growing

audiences: beginning to rival low-selling papers


Billions of fleeting conversationson hundreds of platforms, 24/7/365


STS Forum generated own SM content: e.g. my live tweeting

https://twitter.com/NalakaG/status/773850198975971328


https://twitter.com/NalakaG/status/773833859934793729


Younger, tech-savvy Lankan scientists do enter SM chats, often offering helpful advice to others


Social Media can be used strategically for science comm… Non-formal science education Science & Tech outreach (info dissemination) Public conversations on research findings Public discussions of new govt policies with

science or technology dimensions Campaigning for/against a new S&T related

policies, practices or products Raise critical thinking among our people


But always remember: Social Media is a Contested Space!

SM is a democratised medium: anybody can use it to communicate!

Lankan charlatans & zealots have been quick to seize SM opportunities to poison our public mind

Black magicians now use both mainstream & social media to swindle public


Yet, SM is ALSO latest medium for myths, pseudoscience & non-science!

‘Scientific-looking’ fabrications spreading fears & paranoia on food, medicine, technologies

Practitioners of occult & paranormal peddling quick fixes to your problems – for a fee!

Dubious recipes, products & services being marketed as ‘ancient knowledge’

“Get to know Lord Ganesha, so he can help you” Workshop


Is the OPPOSITE of this truefor many/most Lankans today?

Have social media ‘turbo-charged’ Sri Lanka’s spread of superstitions, myths, myth-based cottage industries & pseudoscience?

What implications for our post-war society?


Example 1:Spreading demographic myths

Claim: Muslims (9.3% of LKA pop. in 2012) set to become majority ethnic group in Sri Lanka by 2090This is a complete distortion of demographic facts/trends = hate speech based on false science!


Example 2:Conspiracies of an ‘infertility plot’

“Pakistani spices now in Lankan market designed to make Sinhalese infertile, say health authorities”Total fabrication, but widely shared online & believed by some!


Example 3:Conspiracy Theory on espionage

“Muslim-owned Etisalat telecom co has given free SIMs to some Sri Lanlka Army soldiers, so as to spy on the military thru’ these devices!”Mischievous misinterpretation of marketing by legitimate telco


Example 4:Persistent Ravana myth

Taking Indian epic Ramayana as real, some Lankans believe in a pre-historic King Ravana & his ‘technological feats’ incl. flying machine

No archaeological evidence at all!

Artist’s impression of King Ravana of Lanka (???) and his ‘flying machine’


Exasperated by all this, I asked in my Sunday column 3 yrs ago…

https://collidecolumn.wordpress.com/2013/09/22/when-worlds-collide-84-have-lankans-suspended-disbelief-permanently/


So can we use social media for promoting skeptical inquiry?

Web & social media: CONTESTED SPACES

Freedom of Expression: sacrosanct – even when it is sometimes abused by peddlers of mis-info…

Our big challenge: Vaccinate public with rational thinking!


WHERE is skeptical inquiry & rational thinking in today’s Lanka?

An entire population led astray by astrologers!

Cartoon by Awantha Artigala, Wijeya Newspapers


Uncritical Society: Much is at stake!

Op-ed on why scientific literacy is vital for Lanka:

Daily FT, 7 Sep 2016http://www.ft.lk/article/566259/Scientific-literacy---Intellectual-Vaccine--Sri-Lanka-badly-needs


In a dismal landscape…I DO see some signs of hope Most maintream media uncritically peddling

pseudo-science & anti-science Newspapers & TV earn big money by

advertising astrological & black magic services Sri Lanka Rationalists Assn (<100 members)

keeps protesting - but NOT in social media! Counter-narrative emerging in SM: led by

young, irreverent, irrepressible persons!


Irrational state actions are often critiqued & ridiculed on SM…

Early Aug 2016: Lankan traffic police organising Buddhist chanting at roadside, allegedly to ‘reduce road traffic accidents’ was merely reported in mainstream media…But this action was highly ridiculed on social media!


No taboos!

Lankan politicians’ cynical use of populism and outer trappings of religion is ridiculed in this popular Sinhala meme circulating on Facebook


Organised efforts to use SM for reason: Example 1: Mithyaa

Myth-busting video show produced by young Lankan rationalists and disseminated via YouTube & Facebook

Biweekly new episodes since 2014


Mithyaa YT show: Promoting rational thinking on a shoestring budget

Mithyaa (=myths) is a self-funded, low budget production, filmed with digital video camera, edited on a laptop & then disseminated on YouTube free of charge – and aloof of risk-adverse broadcast gatekeepers!


Mithyaa exposes…[translation of meme]Origins of GodsModern Gods and GoddessesHarnessing God PowerGod-driven magicSecrets of ‘Godmen’


Role of myths in Lankan electionsTaking on astrology-politics nexus

Mithyaa show released on 31 Dec 2014, a week ahead of decisive Jan 2015 Presidential Election called by incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa 2 years ahead of schedule -- based on his astrologer’s advice (oops!)


Mithyaa: Videos on YouTube,Discussions unfold on Facebook


Example 2: Against Myths FB Page Let’s see the world with an open mind!


Typical web ‘meme’ shared on Against Myths FB page…

Let’s observe Sinhala Tamil New Year without astrology and myth of ‘auspicious times’!


Example 3: Bankoloth Tharka[‘Hollow Arguments’] FB page


Tagore’s definition of True Freedom…


Sinhala rendering of Bertrand Russell’s Cosmic Teapot analogy…


Common in many rationally inclined SM content in LKA… No Sacred Cows = all dogmas critiqued! Questioning ALL religious teachings Foreceful, often vituperative, reactions by ‘true

believers’ of various faiths/dogmas Practitioners of black magic sometimes claim

theirs is ‘indigenous knowledge’ that ‘should not be probed or challenged’

SM discussions far more vibrant than in Lankan mainstream media today!


How to insulate from vicious pushback on social media?

Rational voices are constantly under verbal attack by charlatans, zealots, conservatives & semi-feudal Lankan academics!

Cyber civility lacking My own coping strategies:

Ignore trolls as much as possible Mute the worst ones on Twitter FB: personal account & public page


Much admired in pro-science, pro-reason groups on LKA Social Media


Beyond SM, I keep myth-busting in an oasis of mainstream media (Ravaya)

Nalaka Gunawardene’s weekly column in Ravaya independent broadsheet newspaper where he asks inconvenient questions and dispels myths and misconceptions

Column archive (with English summaries) since 2011:https://nalakagunawardene.com/ravaya-column/


My own meme contributions toenrich social media conversations


Rationalist Dr Abraham T Kovoor’s

famous quote in Sinhala…


Yatha Rupa: Only show on Lankan public TV debunking myths

Thursdays 22:15 RupavahiniIn live talk show, scientists engage peddlers of pseudo-science & superstition

“We are willing to engage anyone in a rational exploration of topics in public interest. We don’t accept anything without due investigation.”- Dr Senarath Weragama, rationalist and regular guest


Concluding thoughts… Mainstream media in slow decline (but

won’t go extinct for yrs): we can’t ignore State media (used in propaganda for ruling

parties) must become public service media: promote rational thinking

Meanwhile, SM offers quick, fleeting chance to counter myths & anti-science

Every rational voice counts, wherever it is expressed! So keep them coming…


What to make of the ceaseless‘Global Cacophony’ in social media?

How many among us pause to reflect: where is all this chatter taking us?Are we any clearer, better informed or wiser? Is there a way we can ENRICH our social media experiences?Answer lies with…each one of us!


Also wanted, urgent: Cyber Literacy 4 critical consumption of Social Media!

Translation:“Don’t believe anything just because it’s shared on Facebook!”-King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe (last king of Lanka), 16 June 1802 in Kandy


Light social media candles againstdarkness of myth & irrationality!

Email:[email protected]:twitter.com/NalakaGRavaya column archive (in Sinhala):nalakagunawardene.com/ravaya-column/