Moscow, Feb 17 (PTI) Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Wednesday that social media provides a window of a couple of hours to respond to something that has potential to go viral and if one fails to respond quickly, it becomes a greater issue which could be challenging.

Shringla made the comments in response to a question at a meeting hosted by the Diplomatic Academy of Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs here.

"You have someone who has put out a tweet relating to your country. Say that they have said something about Russia. Now if you don't respond to it immediately, it can go viral, and can become global news. By the time you get your acts together, it's too late," Shringla said while deftly responding to a question on how to deal with the challenges posed by social media.

"What we are told by those who know about social media is that you have a window of a couple of hours to respond to something that has potential to go viral. You respond quickly, you are able to provide the right answers, the matter is settled. If you don't respond, it becomes a greater issue and it becomes something that's challenging," he added.

Recently, pop singer Rihanna's one-line tweet on India's farmer's protests drew international headlines, prompting the Ministry of External Affairs to issue a statement, saying "Temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible”.

"Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken,” the ministry said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)