Verbal rape, threats and shaming: A day in the life of WCC's social media manager

Amid an array of charges raised by Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) against the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) at its recent press meet, one testimony stood apart for its candidness. Sangeetha Janachandran, the social media manager of WCC, slammed the online behaviour of Keralites. Sangeetha, a Malappuram-based social media professional,  claimed she experiences 'verbal rape' several times a day. She elaborates on her bitter experiences while managing WCC's Facebook handle in a freewheeling chat with Onmanorama. 

Bid to stifle voices

Sangeetha took over the Facebook page of WCC in February, 2018, from actress Parvathy Thiruvoth, who is her cousin. Parvathy had been managing her own social media accounts and the accounts of WCC for almost a year till February. It was after the first instance of social media attack on her – the one following the 'Kasaba' row –  that Sangeetha suggested she would take over the control of Parvathy's social media pages. The intention was just to give the pages a professional outlook, employing some simple social media strategies. 

“But the kind of messages, comments and reviews they get overwhelmed me,” Sangeetha said. 

People shower threats, abuses and gender hatred on the social media handles of WCC and its members. "Most of the attacks come from fake profiles. There's is a subtle tendency to attack a person who asserts her skills, opinions or political views on a public platform. People tend to abuse and demotivate the person or group which raises voice for themselves.” 

Gender no bar

Abusive words and rape threats are normal when one manages a feministic social media handle, she said. Interestingly, the cyberbullies are not men alone. 

Sangeetha manages social media accounts from her personal gadgets. "My phone buzzes with notifications literally every second and I open it to read extremely abusive messages against Parvathy and other WCC members. A section of Keralites takes to social media to manifest their hatred," she said.

Privilege of anonymity

Actor and AMMA general secretary Siddique reportedly said on Monday that WCC reaps on Facebook what they sow through their statements. WCC doesn't spread gender hatred to invite misogynistic comments, Sangeetha countered.

"Many commentators do not realise that their words are being monitored by someone. Frustrated by the verbal abuses, I have responded to some social media users from my personal profile. Some of them apologised for their harshness straight away but some did not even respond. I'm sure people wouldn't dare to spit out such words on the face of their targets. It is the privilege of anonymity that fascinates them," Sangeetha said.

Opens up at public meet

Sangeetha accompanied WCC members to Ernakulam press club to prepare a press release and minutes of the conference. The complaints raised by the WCC members had irked many in the crowd gathered there too. There she spoke on the challenges she faced while managing WCC's Facebook account. 

“Those words came straight from my heart. I wouldn't have been able to sleep peacefully hadn't I said it there. I literally experience verbal rapes on a daily basis. People send such demeaning stuff to our chat windows without any humanitarian consideration," she disclosed.

Topic of research  

Sangeetha, a post graduate in Mass Communication, is currently pursuing her PhD in Journalism. Even the abuses posted on WCC's Facebook page is a specimen for this scholar's academic pursuit. Social media behaviour of Keralites forms a core area of her research. Sangeetha said every campaign, good or bad, exhibits a particular tendency of a social group. 

"It is the instinct to lynch a person you dislike on social media that transform into a mass cyberattack on virtual spaces. I have previously managed the official pages of some Malayalam movies. The fanfare messages, threats and fights in the name of superstars surprised me. Keralites have a subtle instinct to demotivate a person," she noted.