bhaskar saikia

Throughout history, new technologies have emerged with the promise of enlightenment, connection and make the world a better place. Yet time and again, these very tools have been weaponized, fueling misinformation, division, and even mass hysteria. As Yuval Noah Harari highlights in Nexus, revolutionary technologies rarely deliver their utopian visions in their early stages. Instead, they often exacerbate societal fractures, empowering those who seek to manipulate, exploit and control.

One of the most striking examples of this paradox is the printing press. When Johannes Gutenberg introduced movable type in the 15th century, it was celebrated as a means to democratize knowledge. However, instead of exclusively spreading truth and reason, it also became a conduit for fear and superstition. As Harari highlighted that Heinrich Kramer’s The Hammer of the Witches (Malleus Maleficarum) is a case in point. This notorious book, widely disseminated thanks to the printing press, fueled a moral panic that led to the systematic persecution, torture, and execution of thousands—predominantly women—accused of witchcraft. At the same time, genuinely revolutionary scientific texts, such as Nicolaus Copernicus’ On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, struggled to gain readership and acceptance.

The lesson is clear: the same technology that can liberate minds can also imprison them in ignorance and fear, depending on how it is wielded. This historical precedent echoes eerily in our present digital age.

When the internet and social media platforms became widely accessible, they were hailed as instruments of free expression and global connection. The dream was a digital utopia where knowledge flowed freely and societies became more informed and democratic. Instead, the reality has been more unsettling. The internet has given rise to an era of misinformation, clickbait, and digital tribalism. Algorithms designed to maximize engagement do so not by fostering meaningful discourse, but by amplifying the most polarizing, sensational and divisive content.

Social media, which was meant to bridge divides, has instead deepened them, creating echo chambers where people are fed only the information that reinforces their pre-existing beliefs.

The consequences of this digital fragmentation are profound.

Political polarization has reached unprecedented levels, with factions so deeply entrenched in their ideological silos that civil discourse becomes nearly impossible.

The spread of misinformation has led to real-world violence, public health crises and threats to democratic institutions. Much like the printing press enabled witch hunts in the 16th and 17th centuries, social media has provided a new arena for modern-day hysteria—be it conspiracy theories, radical extremism or political manipulation.

But if history teaches us anything, it is that tools themselves are not inherently good or evil. The real question is how we choose to wield them. The blame does not rest solely on technology; it lies with us, the users.

If we fail to recognize and counteract the dangers of unchecked misinformation and manipulation, we become complicit in our own division and downfall.

We must resist becoming mere sheep in the global propaganda machine, blindly consuming and regurgitating whatever information is fed to us.

The power structures that control these tools often have their own agendas, shaping narratives that serve their interests rather than the truth.

To break free from this cycle, we must question, analyze and seek multiple perspectives before forming opinions.

To escape this herd mentality, we must cultivate independent thought and engage in critical inquiry.