Dangerous speech on social media platforms can be framed as blatantly inflammatory, or be couched in innuendo. It is also centrally tied to who engages it – it can be driven by openly sectarian social media accounts, or through subtle nudges by influential accounts, allowing for complex means of reinforcing vilification of marginalized groups, an increasingly significant problem in the media environment in the Global South. We identify dangerous speech by influential accounts on Twitter in India around three key events, examining both the language and networks of messaging that condones or actively promotes violence against vulnerable groups. We characterize dangerous speech users by assigning Danger Amplification Belief scores and show that dangerous users are more active on Twitter as compared to other users as well as most influential in the network, in terms of a larger following as well as volume of verified accounts. We find that dangerous users have a more polarized viewership, suggesting that their audience is more susceptible to incitement. Using a mix of network centrality measures and qualitative analysis, we find that most dangerous accounts tend to either be in mass media related occupations or allied with low-ranking, right-leaning politicians, and act as “broadcasters” in the network, where they are best positioned to spearhead the rapid dissemination of dangerous speech across the platform.

Twitter’s role in driving political discourse is well documented in scholarship, yet, its affect on electoral outcomes is unclear. In this work, we analyze the Twitter activity of candidates from four major political parties contesting in assembly elections in the Indian state of West Bengal, alongside the outcomes of the election. We find that winning candidates are more likely to have a Twitter presence. However, Twitter presence in itself does not increase the likelihood of winning. We also find that candidates with high degrees of social media influence, typically celebrities, are more likely to lose, as their high following comes to signify their status as outsiders in politics. Finally, studying sub-regional metrics of social media engagement and election outcomes, we find that Twitter offers us insight into the geographical logic of attention paid by parties in the electoral campaign.