“Read this message 5 times and forward to 50 people to bring you good luck! But
BEWARE! Don’t delete it at all otherwise you’ll face bad luck within 5 minutes!” Just how many times have you read this message and forwarded innocently to more such innocent WhatsApp or Facebook users? And did you get the good luck that you waited for after forwarding this kind of message? Probably not. Also, can you imagine the result of your forward? Yes, it’s unfortunate and embarrassing, but it’s the reality. You are spreading rumours, fake news and even deceiving people by such messages.

Today, we are all functioning through the internet and social media and therefore, are rightly called as netizens! We do enjoy the benefits and privileges of the internet, but with great benefits comes great responsibility. So how responsible are you if you are forwarding news, methods, and messages to masses without verifying or confirming? Aren’t you responsible for spreading wrong information in the community? Worse, you could be responsible for cyber bullying loss or even the loss of life because of an ignorant forward.

TikTok India has raised emphasis on this delicate subject (which actually wasn’t much talked about and avoided before) informing everyone about the dangerous side of these careless forwards. In their new initiative #MatKarForward, some of the prominent stars and even renowned Tiktok online community members come forward to open your eyes to the consequences of your careless behaviour.

Awareness is the first step towards becoming #Atmanirbhar, too. This means, when you act logically, verify the reasons behind any hate speech or coronavirus curing techniques, you simply don’t forward a questionable message and instead choose to be responsible and hence atma nirbhar (self-reliant!) What’s more, you are also helping the world in your own sweet way by putting a stop to any nonsense and hate. Don’t you think it’s great that you are contributing to making the world a better place?

Personally, I’m impressed! I couldn’t think of a way to stop those illogical cures of cloves and garlic for the treatment of coronavirus and couldn’t help dreading the time I accidentally downloaded the forwarded distasteful video of a certain person bullying another! With TikTok thinking out of the box and actually preaching the masses to stop and think before forwarding such fake messages and hate speeches, it’s finally got pulled over a lot. In the end, I believe we would all be #Atmanirbhar one day and completely stop this spread of negativity through the net and social media by following the message of #MatKarForward!