In a Yale University media panel, moderator Speaker A introduces Jibran Ilyas as the enigmatic "dark knight" behind Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) social media operation. Ilyas, a Northwestern professor and Google security expert, explains why he runs the PTI social media machine despite a stable career in the United States. He frames his motivation as love for Pakistan and a personal sense of dignity, asserting that a free, truthful narrative is essential for rule of law and human rights. Ilyas emphasizes that ordinary Pakistanis with smartphones act as citizen journalists; viral ideas, not just large accounts, drive the movement. He argues that truth is unstoppable, citing a recent survey indicating 90% popularity for Imran Khan, and notes that powerful opponents have tried to silence the movement but it continues to grow. The discussion highlights the strategic use of TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms to inform and mobilize millions, positioning the PTI social media machine as a unique political force in South Asia.
Chapters
Wow. Yeah, that was, that was, yeah, that was quite a moment, wasn't it? Let's give Wajahat Ali a hand. Okay, so there's a— this is not going to be easy to follow up, but there's only one person who can follow up on where Wajahat left off. Uh, he is not Wajahat. Uh, he is the one and only Jibran Ilyas. Now, this is a really important moment. Okay, because this guy just doesn't do this. This guy is the secret dark knight of Pakistani social media. People are trying to find him. He has multiple email addresses, multiple Twitter accounts. Millions of people listen to his little cryptic details every day. He effectively does what a lot of you may know, most of you don't know, but have heard of, the PTI social media machine. Now, the PTI social media machine— I'm going to make him nervous, I'm going to walk in front of him. The PTI social media machine is single-handedly a phenomenon across South Asian politics today. It is the only voice, the only free voice of the largest political party and movement of Pakistan, The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, whose leader Imran Khan, God bless him, has been in jail now for almost 650 days. And the only way we hear from or about Imran is through this man and the machine he runs. That's what an important role Jibrail Elias is playing in Pakistani politics today. Let's give him a hand for that. Let's set that up. This is a difficult role. This is a difficult role. Jibran is a wanted man. I know what that feels like, but he really knows what that feels like. He's a Northwestern professor by day, he's a Google security expert by the afternoon, but he's a PTI social media warrior by night, right? This is, this is the Bruce Willis of Pakistani social media. Tell us firstly how— 2 questions, and I'm gonna let you take, take the stage. How do you guys run this crazy machine? Millions of followers, many of them in this room. How do you guys run this crazy machine? And frankly, why do you guys do it? You've got a job, you're sitting here, you're in America, you can't go back. What's your problem, man? Just, you know, pay your taxes, go back home to your wife. Why do you get millions of people triggered, informed every day on TikTok, Insta, Twitter, etc.? What's your problem? Tell us your problem. Tell us your story.
Well, first of all, thanks for the very, very kind intro. And that is what Wajahat had asked just now, right? Why do I do this? I've been here. I work at Google. I teach at Northwestern. I don't need to do this. Anybody want to guess what that answer was, what that one word was? Why do we do this? We love Pakistan. Love Pakistan, but one other thing? Pakistan is our country. It's our dignity. Dignity is what I live with 24/7. It is my identity. So if I want a positive outlook of Pakistanis wherever I go, I want my country to have rule of law, to have justice, to have equal human rights. So basically, the answer to the second question is dignity. And that is, that is why we do this. We get a lot of credit for PTI social media. What I say to that is we have done nothing. It's the people of Pakistan who have smartphones, because with the smartphones, with your social media accounts, you folks are the journalists. You know, if— I don't know if you folks know, if you search for like news in your App Store or Google Play Store, X comes up as the number one app for news. So if you have that account, guess what? You are as good a journalist as could be. And what we've learned over the years, it's not even the people with like the big accounts. It's the idea that goes viral. So if you have an idea and if you're brave enough to put it, incredible things will happen. You can actually change a lot of things. Or the people that we're kind of like up against are very, very powerful people. But the thing is, the truth is not on their side. So one of the first things that they said very arrogantly is that we have a red line on Imran Khan. And guess what? He's never coming back again. And I will say, if I could sum up this movement of last 3 years in a sentence, I would say, You know, nothing, nothing can win over truth. And for the last 3 years, they've been trying to crush us one person at a time, but the movement keeps growing. And just yesterday, Dr. Arif Alvi mentioned that according to their own survey, Imran Khan has 90% popularity in Pakistan. So that's the power of truth. Don't ever estimate the power of truth. Don't ever estimate your one account because your one tweet, your one Instagram message, your one Facebook post can help in changing the world.
