Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Rinchen Norbu are joined by author, cultural commentator and podcaster Anurag Minus Verma and Biyon Sony Joseph, a lecturer in political science and former Network for Advanced Study of China (NASC) Fellow at the Takshashila Institution.
The panel first discussed how the BJP has been trying to expand its digital presence beyond its traditional social-media ecosystem, particularly on Instagram.
According to Anurag, right-wing Instagram content has often relied on a limited set of formats – targeting individuals, threatening opponents, punching down through humour and exposing alleged hypocrisy. But he argued that this has a limited shelf life on Instagram.
“These things have a shelf life because these things are not cool. These things can appeal to you for a short period of time… But Instagram especially operates on a post-irony aesthetic, so you have to have a certain kind of ideological looseness as well. You can’t be very stiff, which is also a criteria for humour,” he added.
All this and more.
Watch the full episode: newslaundry.com/2026/08/22/hafta-603-bjps-instagram-problem-dimaagi-naxal-and-maoism-in-india
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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Rinchen Norbu are joined by author, cultural commentator and podcaster Anurag Minus Verma and Biyon Sony Joseph, a lecturer in political science and former Network for Advanced Study of China (NASC) Fellow at the Takshashila Institution.
The panel first discussed how the BJP has been trying to expand its digital presence beyond its traditional social-media ecosystem, particularly on Instagram.
According to Anurag, right-wing Instagram content has often relied on a limited set of formats – targeting individuals, threatening opponents, punching down through humour and exposing alleged hypocrisy. But he argued that this has a limited shelf life on Instagram.
“These things have a shelf life because these things are not cool. These things can appeal to you for a short period of time… But Instagram especially operates on a post-irony aesthetic, so you have to have a certain kind of ideological looseness as well. You can’t be very stiff, which is also a criteria for humour,” he added.
All this and more.
Watch the full episode: newslaundry.com/2026/08/22/hafta-603-bjps-instagram-problem-dimaagi-naxal-and-maoism-in-india
Subscribe to Newslaundry: pages.razorpay.com/nlsm
Join the NL-TNM Book Club: newslaundry.com/book-club
Join us on WhatsApp: whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va61PEo0QeacOqU9vr2k
Download the accessible Newslaundry app: newslaundry.com/download-app
Follow and engage with us on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/newslaundry
Twitter: twitter.com/newslaundry
Instagram: instagram.com/newslaundry
