Is it in the geopolitical interest of the West and India to use the same Internet platforms? Take a look at what reddit and YouTube users have to say about India. That kind of uncensored hatred and racism will push India right into the arms of Russia and China.
It would be better for US-India relations if Indian Internet users also have local alternatives to choose from. Local alternatives where they don't have to hear what Cletus from Texas has to say about their country and religion.
Geopolitics isn't determined by comments on Internet forums. It's determined by mutual interest between governments and how their administrative officials think. YouTube and Reddit comments don't mean anything given that a vast majority don't understand nuances of geopolitics.
>Geopolitics isn't determined by comments on Internet forums
Politics is increasingly being influenced by Internet movements and culture. Millions of Indians being repeatedly exposed to what reddit and YouTube has to say about them will change their opinion about the West for the worse. The Indians who browse reddit and YouTube are more likely to be young and politically savvy.
I'm not calling for censorship. One possible solution is that American Internet platforms create India-focused silos of their platforms. Indian Internet users (who wish to do so) should still be able to go out of their way to find out what Cletus from Texas has to say.
> Politics is increasingly being influenced by Internet movements and culture.
They are not. Internet users affect public opinion, but only to an extent that it may influence domestic policy. International affairs are run levels above and they rarely take cues from the Internet because, as I said before, the general public lack the nuance in discussing geopolitics. Case in point, America's relationship with the Saudis. People in the US have been complaining "Saudi Arabia bad" for a long time, yet the alliance is as strong as ever because public opinion simply does not matter in geopolitics.
Platforms need better ways to filter out "unwanted" voices. The amount of Hindi videos on youtube with English titles is pretty infuriating. As well as increasing Indian/China/Pakistan drama on relevant topics. "Unwanted" not specific to these groups, just general need for personalized content control as the internet is only getting more and more dramatic with new geopolitical tensions.
For reddit, I recommend "Reddit Pro Tools", it's a customization mass tagger. Setup a few filters for new accounts, users who posts in kid subreddits (likely kids), politics, and you have a good sense of who you're dealing with at any time. Internet needs more first impressions. I'm not interested in the opinion of a user who posts in r/teenager or r/XYZnationalistsubreddit etc.
It would be better for US-India relations if Indian Internet users also have local alternatives to choose from. Local alternatives where they don't have to hear what Cletus from Texas has to say about their country and religion.