Fake News And The Hungama: Gangs of Social Media by Vasimraja Bhavikatti
It is a story about Professor Fabulous and his venture in unearthing the case of the fake news and all the hungama that comes with it. This is not the first time social media is spoken ill of. You might remember ‘2.O’ the Rajnikanth and Akshay Kumar starrer, where Pakshi Rajan wants to destroy all the mobile towers because of the harm it causes on the life span of the birds. Pakshi Rajan was a great human being, but somewhere down the line, he felt that humanity has lost it. Humanity has an obsession with social media. Vasimraja’s Gangs of Social Media is almost along the same lines. But Vasimraja deals with fake news on social media and the spread of it.
Vasimraja maintains a dialogical rapport with the reader as he keeps all of his characters relatable and interesting. The plot looks almost filmy, the sequential flow is predictable but fills one with a sense of wanting for more and the next.
From the start till the end the author hooks you. What made it an interesting read is the time that we are in. The pandemic and all the experiences along with it, one of them is the spread of fake news. There is no end to it. Therefore there is a dire need to confirm the authenticity of the news. Many applications like WhatsApp have now begun to curtail forwarding a message to multiple individuals. Social Media is meant to enhance communication and entertain us. But it is because we have not understood the proper usage of social media we have failed to use it productively.
Vasimraja makes this evident in the book. The cover of the book is loaded with messages. The interior design of the book is fantastic as it makes it easy to read. The division of the book into 15 chapters with titles that almost foreshadow the narration that would happen in the chapter is marvellously and artistically done by the author. This book could be adapted into a movie or an irresistible web series in the years to come.
Gangs of Social Media sounds dangerous but there is not much to be worried about as Professor Fabulous is fabulous at his job. But what happens at the end. Is the search over? Does Professor Fabulous get to the criminal? The book trades us through the process. It takes us from one person to the other. The end is what the reader has to discover herself or himself.
I would recommend the book to everyone who likes and love social media. Also to those who without even reading a message forward them as though forwarding is their only business. Even ‘Good Morning’ and ‘Good Night’ forwards (Freaks!). I wish they would have taken the pain to type the few letters to show some love. A little bit more than just the forward.
