Accountability in the Age of Public Sentiment

Not long ago, accountability was a slow ritual. A leader would wait for the next parliamentary session to answer critics. A company facing controversy would issue a carefully worded press release days later. Public opinion mattered, but it took time to gather, time to circulate, and time to have any real consequence. That world no longer exists. Today, accountability is demanded in real time.

The shift is stark. A poorly phrased comment by a politician can become a national scandal within hours, spreading through Twitter, Instagram reels, and WhatsApp groups before the first television debate even begins. A brand campaign that strikes the wrong chord can be withdrawn the same day it is released, undone by a flood of online outrage. A CEO caught in controversy can find their stock value collapsing overnight as investors react not to balance sheets but to hashtags. The public no longer waits for institutions to mediate outrage. Sentiment expresses itself instantly, and consequences follow just as quickly.

This is not simply a story about technology. It is a story about power. Where accountability once flowed downward through formal institutions, it now rises upward from millions of ordinary people speaking at once. The public square has been digitized, and in that square leaders and companies are exposed every day to the raw, unfiltered verdicts of those they claim to represent or serve. A speech in Parliament or a press conference at corporate headquarters may still matter, but by the time it happens, the public has already passed judgment.

The Indian context makes this transformation even clearer. With more than 800 million internet users, most of them on smartphones, the conversation is relentless. Politicians have had to learn that a video clip from a local rally can go viral nationwide within hours. Companies have discovered that an advertisement insensitive to culture or faith can spark boycotts before the campaign even reaches television. A single viral reel or WhatsApp forward can undo months of messaging. The lesson is unforgiving but simple: silence is not neutrality. Delay is not strategy.

Globally too, the pattern repeats. From CEOs forced to resign under public pressure, to governments backtracking on policy after online mobilization, the public sphere now punishes hesitation. Leaders who attempt to ride out the storm often find the storm growing larger. Those who respond quickly, acknowledge mistakes, and engage with the conversation stand a chance to rebuild trust. The age of managed spin has given way to the age of permanent visibility.

This reality carries risks. Online sentiment is not always measured or fair. It can amplify outrage, drown nuance, and leave little room for patient deliberation. But it is the reality leaders must confront. Pretending it does not exist, or hoping that old systems of gatekeeping will contain it, is to ignore the environment in which legitimacy is now built and broken.

Accountability has always been the cornerstone of democracy and trust in institutions. What has changed is the speed at which it is demanded. Today it is not scheduled, it is continuous.

Leaders and companies who fail to listen in real time risk irrelevance. Those who adapt, who understand that the public conversation is constant and fluid, will find that accountability is not just a threat. It can also be a chance to lead with honesty in a world that no longer accepts delay. The need now is for sharper tools to hear that conversation as it unfolds, and we are building precisely for that future.