Social media has ingrained itself into our daily lives, and journalism is no exception. A large number of independent creators and journalists have launched their YouTube channels to share political content and engage with the public. This study examined the internet discourse surrounding the Supreme Court of India’s verdict on the Electoral Bond’s judgment. The top five Indian YouTube news channels, with the highest subscribers were, selected: The Lallantop, NMF News, Ravish Kumar Official, The Wire, and First Post. The first 500 comments, posted on the videos discussing the Electoral Bond’s judgment, from each channel were examined. The user comments, made in the comments section of the videos, were analyzed by the researcher by employing Clarke and Braun’s six-step Thematic Analysis of the comments, which helped in identifying different themes. After analyzing the comments, the study identified the following dominant themes: 1) Attacking BJP, 2) Attacking Journalist, 3) Corruption, 4) Emoji, 5) EVM, 6) Not favoring the judgment, 7) PM Cares, 8) Pleading, and 9) Praising the judiciary. Habermas’ Public Sphere Theory (1962), specifically its digital adaptation by Zizi Papacharissi, which says that the internet has created a new public sphere, serves as the basis of the study. This study enhances the field of media and communication by underscoring the role of YouTube as a digital public sphere and highlights the phenomenon of agenda shift, meaning that the digital public shifts the discussion to some other issue of social-political importance rather than staying on the core issue.

Authors:
Shivankar Joshi, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, India
Sarvesh Tripathi, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, India

About the Presenter(s)
Shivankar, is currently pursuing his PhD at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, with a research focus on media, law, and the judiciary. An avid reader, he has a deep interest in investigative journalism and human rights reporting.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivankar-joshi-74596a1b6/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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