Twitter diplomacy to the fore sees two birds being hit with one post

Diplomats taking to Twitter and other social media platforms is part of public diplomacy in the modern world.

This week, a series of Pakistan High Commission Twitter posts, couched in sarcasm, lamented over the low levels to which journalism had fallen and said the High Commissioner had no super power to be in two places at the same time.

They were referring to a news item in a northern datelined piece and compared it to an Indian journalist known for courting controversies with his pro-Hindutva, pro-Bharatiya Janata Party journalism. Thus, they made use of the opportunity to hit two birds with one post.

In a reaction to a Sept 23 story, the High Commission’s Press Attache had this to say in her tweet: “Appears reporters from (name of Sri Lankan newspaper withheld) hv same super intel sources, as (name of Indian journalist withheld) unearthing superpower of HC HE Maj Gen @SaadKhtk who can b present at 2 places at the same time. Last checked, u can’t b in Jaffna @ 8am & reach Colombo @ 9am on the same day @PakinSriLanka.

The controversial story headlined “Saththam indri Yaal deevakam sendra Pak thooduvar (Pak envoy in secret visit to Jaffna islet)” said: “It has been revealed that the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Sri Lanka, Major General (Retired) Mohammad Saad Khattak had visited the island of Neduntheevu, one of the islands in Jaffna. Accompanied by his family, the High Commissioner visited the island around 8 am on Tuesday (Sept 21). A northern parliamentarian has already accused Pakistan of trying to set up an international standard hotel in Neduntheevu. In this context, the High Commissioner’s visit has raised suspicion”, was the news item in dispute.

The High Commission waded in as well. In a separate Twitter post, it was not satisfied denying the story, it went on to say: “Level of journalism dropping day by day”. High Commissioner Saad Khattak also took toTwitter. “While I am at a loss to understand the panic at certain quarters even with our routine work I am amazed at the quality and standard of certain journalists and their journalism”.

The diplomatic engagement between Twitter handles to debunk this fake news took a different turn when the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka intervened. Responding to Ambassador Khattak’s criticism, the official Twitter handle Chinese embassy said:

“What a pity they didn’t include Ambassador of China in the fake story. It could have been more thrilling.”

Diplomats resorting to social media to express their reaction to news items in the mainstream media is increasingly becoming routine. The twitterati are quite amazed at the speed with which some embassies move within the Twitter space. Almost all big power missions in Sri Lanka count a large number of social media followers.

Therefore, to deny a news item, it appears, most embassies take to social media. Rarely do they resort to the Right-of-Reply facility responsible newspapers offer.