After Congress Party blamed—Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is hacked—for their humiliating defeats in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha Election, its ex Chief Rahul Gandhi came up with new allegation that BJP and RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in India and use the platforms to influence the electorate.
It is ‘The Wall Street Journal,’ New York based American international daily newspaper, which reported—Facebook overlooks hate speech by BJP leaders because of political compulsion—under the headline of “Facebook’s Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics”, on 14 August. Rahul Gandhi took no time to grab this new report by foreign media to use it as ammunition to attack BJP and RSS.
Left leaning American Media vilifying India’s democratically elected Government and its policies is not news. Just before 2019 Lok Sabha Election, Time Magazine—New York based weekly news journal—ran cover story calling PM Narendra Modi as India’s ‘divider-in-chief’ abandoning all journalistic ethics. When Aatish Naseer—the journalist of cover story in Time—wondered if India would be able to ‘endure another five years of a Modi government, he gave impression as if he was not doing neutral journalism but running agenda against Indian government. However, Indians elected their government in 2019 defeating propaganda campaign by Left leaning American Media.
Does Facebook and other social media platforms favour pages endorsing BJP or nationalistic ideology?
Before 2019 Lok Sabha election Facebook had removed hundreds of pages, most of them were aligned to nationalistic narratives and BJP. If BJP & RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in India, why would they remove pages like भारत माता की जय which had 6 million (60 lakh) likes, that too before election? Below is the table of pages with more than 4 lacs likes. Nevertheless, these pages were deleted by Facebook just before 2019 election.
How can Rahul Gandhi forget Cambridge Analytica episode? In March 2018, a year before the general elections, the whistleblower Christopher Wylie, told British lawmakers that his company worked extensively in India and that he believe” Congress was a client at the regional level. 68 journalists and writers were allegedly given two to five lakhs per month to write against Prime Minister Narendra Modi through data analytics company, Cambridge Analytica. Uncountable pro Congress Facebook accounts had allegedly been opened to influence voters by those 68 journalists and writers.
Thereafter, Central Bureau of Investigation had initiated a preliminary enquiry against Cambridge Analytica and Global Science Research in August 2018 over alleged data theft of voters from Facebook platform. Is this why Rahul Gandhi is trying to build up a narrative that BJP & RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp with an intention to cover their embarrassing involvement with Cambridge Analytica?
When Congress Party cried foul that EVMs are rigged, Supreme Court reminded Congressmen that it was Congress led government, which brought in voting machines in 2017.
Similarly,
- Facebook India head, Ajit Mohan worked in Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as well as Planning Commission during UPA era.
- Facebook Public Policy Head, Siddharth Mazumdar worked with Aakar Ahmad Patel and Prashant Kishore. Mazumdar allegedly was known for abusing ideological opponents through an anonymous account called NyaySahay.
- Former Facebook Head Of News, Partnership Manish Khanduri had joined Congress last in March 2019.
- Public policy director of Facebook India, South and Central Asia, Ankhi Das—who told The Wall Street Journal that she couldn’t take action against BJP leaders despite they violated Facebook’s hate speech rules—is allegedly related to TMC
Now the question arises, how can Facebook be BJP supporter?
In the past, Rahul Gandhi made several irrelevant statements. The Supreme Court had issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi in April last year for dragging the apex court into his ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ campaign against PM Narendra Modi. Thereafter, Rahul Gandhi offered unconditional apology to Supreme Court.
Rahul Gandhi also regretted that he never accused the RSS as an institution for Gandhi’s assassination, after he blamed RSS people killed Gandhiji and today their people (BJP) talk of him, during a Thane rally in March 2014.
Rahul Gandhi didn’t hesitate to disrespect Indian Army, when he demanded proof of surgical strike carried out against militant launch pads across border on 29 September 2016.
As usual, Rahul Gandhi has come with fresh allegation that BJP & RSS control Facebook.
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