“But as a journalist, what is more thought-provoking is the use of social media by a side which feels its voice or version of the story is not heard or represented well enough in the powerful mainstream media. Or should it be the mainstream media of the powerful? However, now social media, with all its limitations, allows the voices, the stories and the images to be amplified.

And perhaps this is one reason, in recent weeks, people have spoken of the polarisation on social media as well as the incorrect information being spread by all sides. Words which are so familiar to someone who is constantly grappling with similar issues in Pakistan.

While these critiques are not incorrect, the larger point is that polarisation is perhaps inevitable when the dominant narrative (regardless of its accuracy or fairness) is challenged.“

Read the full op-ed by Arifa Noor here.