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Facebook is an application used globally, and is probably the most utilized application for political discussions. In developing countries like 28 Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention Vol. 10 No. 3 2019 Pakistan whereby literacy and education levels are so low such social media are often misused. In most instances, people are unaware of the ethical usage of such applications. Framed under qualitative research design, this study aims to describe Facebook as a tool for political propaganda and vested political interests. A total of 400 samples (200 from Punjab and 200 from Sindh) were selected through stratified random sampling. A five level questionnaire was designed relevant to the objectives and research questions of the study whereas the information has been analyzed quantitatively including descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings show that young people in Punjab, Pakistan are greatly exposed to political contents on Facebook which affects their political behaviors. Facebook was made non-exclusive to the world in Sept, 2006. Since then, it has evolved into something far more universal than its competitors. It is surely not the only social medium tapping in on an inexhaustible pool of chatty, enthusiastic, largely young user base. Rather it is the social media giant. For now, Facebook remains a go-to place for modern users of social media and its success is unsurpassed. Many physical gestures and face to face communications have been replaced by likes, messages, comments and friend requests. This digital age has sped up our communication and opened up a world of infinite choices. Usage of social media and Facebook and translation of online participation into political actions and voting trends was studied in the 2008 US election and it was found that people who participated in political debates and expressed political affiliation online were likely to participate in real life activities, etc. (The Express Tribune, 2013). Usage of social media by politicians A cross-sectional study where 88 students of college level were researched showed that Facebook and Twitter accounts managed by politicians affected the voting intentions of the sampled students. The accounts were managed by politicians in order to convey their political messages including contents such as speeches, political gatherings information, photos of political activities, etc. Following these accounts were found to be significant in molding the voting behaviors of the sampled students (Hellweg, 2011). A study conducted in Romania concluded that during elections politicians utilized social media in order to convey their political messages which altered and guided young minds in many ways. The social media worked in positive as well as negative ways. However, exploitations of political emotions was the most note-able one (Lupascu, 2012). Propaganda conveyed through Facebook is almost always directed to use good words for wrong purposes particular when used by politicians. A meta-analysis indicated that good words were projected in a manner that meant presenting opposing people negatively. It was also evident that the majority of sampled individuals were unaware of the use of such words for presenting others negatively and were influenced by the good words while not considering the negative impact of the words about the opposing people (ŞUTIU, 2015). In the modern era it is a fact that social media including Facebook has played a significant role in many political scenarios. For instance, in Ukraine, Facebook and Twitter brought revolution. Similarly, the political situations in Egypt and certain Arab countries 29 Original Articles Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention Vol. 10 No. 3 2019 are directed by Facebook and Twitter. Besides, Facebook was a source of communicating war scenes from Afghanistan to the global community by American soldiers (Ibrahim, 2015). Another key dimension of social media usage by politicians is its mediation through intelligence. The conflicts are old but the mechanisms of mediating people is new in nature through Facebook. Globally, politicians are active in using social media to activate their followers against their opposition by sharing information regarding them and sensitizing their followers by highlighting the time to take action and even the places to take actions (Treverton & Miles, 2014).

Facebook and Propaganda: Following Politics on Facebook and its Impact on Political Behaviors of Youth