MH-FRIEDMAN-POLLS-RUSSIA

Friedman warns of Russia meddling in polls, says Facebook must
be contained, made accountable
    Mumbai, Feb 21 (PTI) Award-winning American columnist
and author Thomas Friedman has warned Indians about the
possible meddling of Russia in the upcoming hustings through
unregulated media like Facebook, exactly the way they did to
the detriment of the US in the 2016 presidential elections.
    President Vladimir Putin will be "voting" in the
summer general elections, the author of the book 'The World is
Flat' said here Thursday.
    "If you (Indians) think they (Russians) will not be
playing in your elections, you are not paying attention.
Believe me, Putin will be voting in your election," Friedman
said speaking at a annual Nasscom summit here.
    The noted political thinker and author also accused
Facebook of "fundamentally violating the trust" that got the
US a president like Donald Trump.
    When a country like the US, which is a champion of
liberal thoughts, talks about building boarder walls and
chooses to "go into the dark", it impacts the whole world, the
three-time Pulitzer Prize winner said, adding Trump's imprint
through his policies is spreading "venom and poison" across
the world.
    The comments come in the light of accusations of
Russians using social media platforms like Facebook to spread
fake news among the American electorate, which resulted in the
surprise defeat of Hillary Clinton and the victory of Trump in
the November 2016 polls.
    The American national investigation agency FBI is
currently probing both Trump's personal involvement in Russian
meddling and also Moscow's role in the polls.
    Similarly, the British also launched a probe against
Moscow after it has come to light that the Brexit referendum
too was manipulated by Russia using social media. Two years
ago, the British in a thin margin of 52 percent voted to leave
the EU by March this year.
    Friedman said a platform like Facebook has deep
insights, courtesy a massive invasion of individual privacy,
and said it's essential for entrepreneurs to know
constitutional morality along with computer codes.
    "Mark Zuckerburg did computer coding in college but
did not take a constitutional course in the college. He
extended the Facebook platform all over the world without
thinking about the privacy or election implications. And we
are now paying the price for that," Friedman said.
    He further said a newspaper like The New York Times,
for which he writes, is strictly regulated, unlike a Facebook
which revels at zero oversight.
    Facebook, however, wants a newspaper's advertisers and
readers, without the regulation over things like fake news, he
said, calling it as a fundamental violation of trust.
    When asked about the growth of India and China, he
said both the countries have their own strengths. Drawing
parallels with a super-highway, he said China has a smooth
road with an uncertainty lurking on the political front, where
rights are trampled on.
    As against this, in India, the journey is very bumpy
with a lot of hindrances in between but far on the horizon is
something that kindles optimism.
    "Whether it is a mirage or an oasis only time will
tell," he said, adding the way India has stuck to democracy
for so long and how a land of 1.34 billion people votes in a
largely free and fair election is nothing but a "miracle".
    He said the lack of natural resources is India's
biggest strength, which results in all the people being forced
to use their minds and work extra. PTI AA
BEN BEN