Retro looks, current jibes: Netas give '80s a new spin
Indian politicians are participating in a social media trend by sharing nostalgic photos from the 1980s, often accompanied by AI-enhanced images and political jabs. The trend has seen various ministers and party accounts use the aesthetic to engage with followers and trade lighthearted barbs.
Why it matters
This highlights how political figures are increasingly using viral social media trends and AI-generated content to humanize their public image and engage in digital political discourse.
NEW DELHI: "The 80s called, I answered," quipped agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as he posted on X a picture of him from that era. Congress Kerala posted an invented Gujarat street scene; BJP Telangana replied with a fabricated bar scene tagged "Lusiana, Italy", apparently alluding to Sonia Gandhi's birthplace.The '80s came calling, and India's politicians answered with aviators, old albums and a little swagger. Then party accounts joined the nostalgia trip, remembering to pack a few jibes for the other side.Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal shared an AI portrait of himself in a suit and aviators, saying: "Vibing to the 80s trend". Union ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal wrote: "80s vibes: Styles fade, but the appeal is forever!" A line fit for a campaign, vintage or otherwise.Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma chimed in: "Back to the 80s eh!"
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