General Studies III · Subtopic
Media and social networking sites
Official syllabus
Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.
UPSC CSE 2026 notification
What this covers
Media and social platforms can inform the public, amplify rumours, document events and enable coordination. The same tool can support safety or harm depending on content, reach, timing and verification. Disagreement and criticism are not themselves security threats.
Key ideas
- Information provenance
- Amplification
- Manipulation
- Public communication
- Freedom and safeguards