Uncouth, behind that digital veil

I showed this recent online advert to two colleagues. 
One had no clue about Sri Lanka and did not speak or read Sinhala. I translated the content and he found it odd, understandably so. He is not Sri Lankan. The other was in Sri Lanka; Sinhala was her first language and reacted with indignation and anger. She not only understood the content, but was well aware of the context of the advert and the intended impact. 

I doubt that even if my non-Sinhala speaking colleague had understood the language he would have reacted in any kind of revulsion. He did though, after I took 15 minutes to explain why some vehicle seller was trying to sell vehicles with a campaign that combined vehicles with suitcases, affairs and an untold, but quite conspicuous link to a very gruesome murder. 

"This is just one example on how social media platforms would miss the inherent, but invisible misogyny of this advisement and a few others like it without human intervention. I saw two similar ones by wedding photographers"

Both of them got this on WhatsApp as did many of us.  This is just one example on how social media platforms would miss the inherent, but invisible misogyny of this advertisement and a few others like it without human intervention. I saw two similar ones by wedding photographers. Human intervention that came with language capacities and cultural and contextual awareness were essential to determine the impact of these posts. 
In simpler terms the content moderator should be proficient in Sinhala, but also very much aware of current news and cultural context within Sri Lanka to detect that these ads violated community guidelines by a mile.  The post above and another were not taken down and stayed live. Both, eventually, however, were taken down by the uploaders after they were being publicly shamed by others. 

But not before one of them at least a photographer by the name of Awantha Sathranga Abewardhana, verbally abused other social media users who commented critically about the post below. It is not that everyone was critical of these posts; there were an abundance of reactions high-fiving the post and its creator. Others said these were examples of guerrilla marketing at its best. 
The guerrilla tactics came undone when another part of the digital population which did not share nor commend the latent, yet violent misogyny of the post began to air their criticism. This was when these posts started coming down. 

"Social media moderation is not the easiest of tasks, but what these examples show is that it will become increasingly harder."

Before these posts came on, the harbinger had been the dozens of memes that followed the gruesome murder. Making fun, hiding behind a digital veil seems a national past time. 
The fact that the post was eventually pulled down by these photographers is indicative public shaming is a double-edged sword; you get as good as you give.  Some of us very obviously cannot stand the heat when it’s directed at us, as Abrwarddhana the wedding photographer showed. You can only be uncouth behind the digital veil on for that long, till firehose gets you in its crosshairs.

 
Abuse and misogyny are deep seated in Sri Lankan culture. The impact is doubled when the attitudes are condoned. For some it seems the in-thing to do. 
Social media moderation is not the easiest of tasks, but what these examples show is that it will become increasingly harder.  The writer is a journalism researcher and a journalist. He can be contacted on [email protected]