- US newspaper questioned the fairness of Facebook in India, said – BJP leaders’ speech was not removed; It was speculated that this was due to Facebook’s close ties with BJP and Indian PM Narendra Modi;
- Facebook denied the allegations – we are constantly working for fairness and accuracy;
BJP and the Congress have come face to face with the ‘control’ issue of Facebook and WhatsApp in the country. Congress has demanded a joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) inquiry into the matter, citing media reports.
Meanwhile, a Facebook spokesperson, on Monday, said that “our policies are the same all over the world. We ban hate speech and content without any political status / party affiliation. We are constantly working for fairness and accuracy. Regular audits are done for this’.
Meanwhile, in India, South and Central Asia, Facebook policy director Aankhi Das has filed a complaint with the Delhi Police. Aankhi said that he has filed a complaint against those who have threatened to kill him through online posting / content.
What is the Facebook controversy?
US newspaper, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), has questioned the fairness of Facebook. The WSJ claimed in its report that Facebook had deliberately acted against BJP leaders and some groups in taking action against the ‘hate speech’ posted on its platform. They did not take action and remove such posts on time.
This report said that Facebook’s policy director in India, Aankhi Das, opposed the enforcement of Facebook’s hate speech rules against BJP leader T Raja Singh. He feared that this might spoil the company’s relations with the BJP. Facebook may lose business in India. T Raja is a BJP MLA from Telangana. He has been accused of inflammatory statements.
The report also said that Aankhi Das also helped the BJP in campaigning. During the last Lok Sabha election, Facebook had said that it has removed the unofficial Facebook page of the Pakistan Army, India’s political party Congress and pages containing false news related to the BJP.
Opposition said – “Facebook, WhatsApp; under BJP’s control”;
- BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, on Monday, said that ‘Rahul Gandhi is an unsuccessful leader and naturally, he is feeling annoyed and angry. Rahul is unable to control the Congress itself’.
- Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said- ‘BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh control Facebook and WhatsApp in India. They spread fake news and hate through them and use them to influence voters. Eventually, the American media came to the truth about Facebook’.
- Union Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad said- ‘losers who cannot influence people in their own party say that BJP, Sangh control the world. Before the election, you were caught red-handed collaborating with Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, to weaponise data. Now we are making inquiries’.
The close relations of Aankhi Das and BJP have raised many questions among the citizens. Such bias can point to a much deep rooted problem in the country. Hate speech has become a huge issue in India, where, more often than not, it is the politicians who engage in such speech. Removing such hate speech from its platform should be a top priority for all social media networks.
