New Delhi, Sept. 2 (The Telegraph): A short Urdu post by a Pakistani news channel today on the arrest of a man named "Tiger Memon" sent India's social media space into a frenzied two-hour spell of titillation that persisted even after it became clear the nabbed man wasn't the 1993 Bombay blasts accused.
The outbreak of Twitter celebrations - and at least two news reports citing the Pakistani post to claim that the Dawood Ibrahim henchman had been arrested - briefly propelled the name Tiger Memon to the top rungs of a list other than India's Most Wanted.
But the swift rise of "Tiger Memon" as a trending subject on Twitter this afternoon also underscored the potential of social media to foster miscommunication and rumours without waiting for any verification, experts said.
And it highlighted how little it takes to set off the explosive mix of jingoism and near-persistent tension that marks ties between India and Pakistan, especially at a time when the two nations have just called off key national security adviser talks.
"Rumour initiators play on already-high levels of group sentiment and animosity to evoke strong emotions," Ravinder Bhavnani, political scientist at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, who has researched social media sociological trends and the spread of rumours, told The Telegraph in an email interview.
"Potential explanations for the rapid, widespread and unchecked diffusion of beliefs in the recent Tiger Memon case include the importance of the figure, that is, his notoriety, and the absence of verification or ambiguity associated with the initial discovery."
The celebrations by sections of Indian users of Twitter began soon after a short, single-sentence post by Pakistan's Geo News on the micro-blogging site, at 2.06pm, stating that sleuths of the Federal Investigation Agency had arrested a Tiger Memon in Karachi.
The Urdu post was translated by Pakistani journalists, and then picked up in India - including by at least one television channel and one newspaper - as the big news that the man accused of masterminding the death of over 250 Indians in Mumbai was finally behind bars.
A Twitter user who goes by the name Sexy Raj Thackeray asked others on the platform, almost incredulous: "Tiger Memon arrested?"
Others, like Masaala Chaas, a Twitter user followed on the platform by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, read deep strategy behind Pakistan's "move." "Pak arresting Tiger Memon is their best way to ensure he stays safe," he posted on Twitter.
By 2.48pm, "Tiger Memon" had crept up to number eight in the trending subjects on Twitter in India, prompting a clarification from Geo News chief Hamid Mir.
"FIA arrested Furqan alias Tiger Memon who was blackmailing girls through fake Facebook accounts," Mir wrote on Twitter at 2.52pm. "Indian media (is) confusing him with the real Tiger Memon."
Indian officials have long suspected that Memon, whose brother Yakub was hanged to death in July for his role in the 1993 blasts, lives in Pakistan under the supervision of the Inter Services Intelligence.
But officials here today laughed at the Twitter frenzy, amused that enough people bought into the possibility that Pakistan agencies would nab Memon, if he is in that country, at a time tensions between the South Asian twins is running high.
By 3.45pm, however, "Tiger Memon" had reached third in the list of the most trending subjects on Twitter in India, fuelled by feverish comments thanking the Prime Minister and the national security adviser, and even wondering if the blasts accused would be deported to India.
"Tiger Memon arrested in Karachi - the question is whether he will be deported or not whether he will be deported to India or not," wondered a Twitter user who identifies himself as Dr. Manish Kumar. "It seems Indian pressure is working on Pakistan."
Today's embarrassing surge of "Tiger Memon" on Twitter in India may also point to the critical role technology-savvy, young users of social media play - or abdicate - as filters of ideas and "news," Bhavnani said.
The specific content of a subject drives the segment of a population likelier to fall for rumours, the Graduate Institute professor said.
"Though, generally speaking, younger, better-connected and more savvy social media users," Bhavnani said, "may play pivotal roles as gatekeepers or transmitters."
Photo credit: The Telegraph
