Religious and ethnic tensions in the Bengal region, split between India and Bangladesh, are escalating. Politicians on both sides of the border use religious sentiment as an electoral tool, fueling historical divisions and creating a climate of mistrust that affects entire communities.
Surveillance technology to monitor divisive rhetoric 🤖
Local governments deploy AI-based social media analysis systems to track hate speech. These tools process thousands of daily posts in Bengali and Hindi, identifying patterns of incitement. However, algorithm accuracy remains limited, and their use sparks debates on privacy and censorship in a region with unequal internet access.
The new regional sport: blaming the neighbor for heresy 😅
While leaders compete to see who invokes the divine most in their speeches, citizens develop a curious pastime: pointing to the other side of the border as the source of all evils. The local tradition of sharing milk sweets has been replaced by sharing accusatory memes. At least, creativity in religious insults has not waned.