THE mother of all elections began with a clear strategy by one side of the political divide, misinformation and disinformation was weaponised to their maximum to capture the minds of the voters. As a consequence, numerous websites popped up very early in the game, WhatsApp became the vocal point of target. This should come as no surprise, in 2018 social media was used to influence elections in at least 18 countries, according to the democracy advocacy group, Freedom House. This state of affairs influenced this author to write the following on May 5, 2019 in the column, ‘BEWARE GUYANA: SOCIAL MEDIA THE POLITICAL

DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD’:
‘I hope, for the sake of my country, the words contained in this article do not become prophetic. Guyana’s national and regional elections are no longer quiet events that occur every five years in the near and far reaches of South America’s only English-speaking country. Ever since Exxon announced its first oil discovery in 2015, the game has changed in a cataclysmic way.’

Unfortunately, the portents of those warnings were manifested in the 2020 Guyana elections in a very dangerous way.

FAKE NEWS
Early in the various campaigns, numerous websites popped up with fake news on Facebook, all generated by every political camp. However, the musings of one website, ‘Guyana Uncut & Exposed’ which carried anti-APNU+AFC views, provided the best negative exemplar for the focus of this discussion. This site demonstrated the ferocious and vicious cutting edge of the subject at hand on social media and is worthy of closer examination. This politically-oriented platform enjoyed the attraction of numerous followers. Baseless allegations against ministers of government were intensely and incessantly posted. On February 23 at 10:44hrs, this website posted the following statement with a picture of the President: ‘Remember your history and they won’t be able to steal the election this time!’ It sought to tear the scab off old historical wounds and hark back to a dark time in Guyana’s history in an attempt to raise old demons and invoke visceral destructive reactions. It also included the following insidious statement posted on February 23: ‘What role did Granger play in the seizure of ballot boxes and killing of the ballot box martyrs in 1973?’ This diabolic piece received 784 reactions, 566 comments and 156 shares. There was a setting of the stage for serious civil unrest. It must be noted, there is no way to trace the origins of these postings, it could be coming from a computer in another part of the world, no one can be held accountable. There were also messages such as; ‘President Granger supports LGBTQ rights’, ‘President Granger has been living in Miami’ and numerous stories that had no basis or factual standing. Voters were subjected to a barrage of fables and myths. Sadly, some bought into this deadly game, as expected. It has to be noted, the presidential candidate of the People’s Progressive Party was also subject to unsavory verbal attacks but those were mild in comparison to the abovementioned.

ON THE BRINK: THE ROMEL ROOPNARINE POST
When the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) completed its tally of the votes from Region Four and there was a declaration of the results, all engineered hell broke loose. The commission command centre was invaded and chaos ensued. Guyanese, who were sitting at home watching the results, saw the uncivil behavior and the unthinking were inspired. Ethnic tensions were raised to their highest since 1992. We were on the precipice of having a modern Rwanda 1994. The most deadly post which was swiftly deleted appeared on the page of Romel Roopnarine, it read: ‘Breaking: residents in Bath Settlement under attack from gangs’. It conjured images of an ethnic purge or a pogrom and sparked alarm among a certain section of the populace. This could have easily turned into a nationwide full-blown ethnic conflict that could have disintegrated the Guyana society. For those who say this is a stretch, I hereby allude to the case of India. WhatsApp rumors led to 30 deaths in India by February 2019, the country that has the largest market for Facebook and WhatsApp with 500 million users. Hindu extremist groups such as the Popular Front of India continue to demonstrate the menace of modern communication when the persons behind the keyboard have diabolical intentions.

It is not an exaggeration if that doomsday day post which stated, ‘Bath Settlement is under attack’ sparked national reactions, the entire Guyana society could have disintegrated.