The role of legal aid in advancing human rights and social justice through social media in India

The confluence of legal aid, human rights, and social justice has been growing in significance in the age of the internet, particularly in the guise of social media influence. Social media has functioned as an influential human rights force with increasing voices, outlining key law problems, and accelerating public discourse. Legal aid organizations can spread legal facts in timely ways, push for policy reforms, and respond to human rights violations in real time through the platforms of social media like Facebook, whatsup, X, and Instagram. In India, legal aid has been an important instrument in the provision of access to justice for marginalized groups. Legal aid organizations now have a new powerful platform to advance human rights and social justice. Social media campaigns have also enabled these organizations to put governments on the accountability track, generate public opinion for legal changes, and enable citizens to demand justice. This abstract discusses how social media has aided legal aid work towards social justice promotion, more so in the provision of public education, development of online communities for advocacy, and enabling citizens to stand up for justice. This paper, through examples and case studies, highlights the employment of digital means to bridge the access deficit to legal services, install a culture of social justice, and promote human rights in India.