Internet Freedom.

According to the Report of Freedom House 2019 regarding internet freedom , Pakistan has dropped a rank lower to 27th out 100. This is because of the excessive control over the digital space. Despite a wide array of internet users, Pakistan falls under the category where there is strong control over the mainstream narrative, especially at the time of elections when social media is used to build a narrative in the favour of certain political actors. In the digital age, where scrutiny of content is a huge challenge, there is a lot of space to create content. The advantage that the right-wing has over the left-wing is that the former mindset already prevails in the society. When such social media consumers search for content, they are automatically pointed towards the content of a similar nature because the algorithms of several social media websites help users consume content of their liking.

The result of such practices is that there is a push for authoritarianism within several circles because the liberty of thought and speech is being looked down upon. This is not the mistake of one particular government, rather the mistake of poorly thought out policies of successive governments. Years worth of draconian legislation and investment in structures that stymie freedom of expression has led to an environment...

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