India
oi-PTI
The
opposition
INDIA
bloc
has
written
to
Meta
CEO
Mark
Zuckerberg
and
Google
CEO
Sundar
Pichai
over
their
social
media
platforms’
alleged
role
in
”aiding
communal
hatred”
in
the
country
and
demanded
that
the
platforms
maintain
neutrality
in
the
upcoming
elections.
The
letters
came
after
the
Washington
Post
newspaper
flagged
alleged
bias
of
Facebook,
WhatsApp
and
YouTube
towards
the
ruling
BJP
and
the
Narendra
Modi
dispensation.
Sharing
the
letter
to
Zuckerberg
on
X,
Congress
president
Mallikarjun
Kharge
said,
”Letter
by
INDIA
parties
to
Facebook’s
Mr.
Mark
Zuckerberg
(@finkd)
citing
the
exhaustive
investigations
by
the
Washington
Post
that
Meta
is
culpable
of
abetting
social
disharmony
and
inciting
communal
hatred
in
India.”
”INDIA
parties
also
write
to
Google’s
Mr.
Sundar
Pichai
on
exhaustive
investigation
by
the
Washington
Post
that
Alphabet
and
specifically
YouTube
is
culpable
of
abetting
social
disharmony
and
inciting
communal
hatred
in
India,” he
said
in
another
post
while
sharing
the
letter
to
Pichai.
In
the
letter
to
Zuckerberg,
the
opposition
parties
have
said
that
the
India
National
Developmental
Inclusive
Alliance
(INDIA)
is
an
alliance
of
28
political
parties
in
India
that
represent
the
combined
opposition
coalition
and
are
the
ruling
alliance
in
11
states
and
represent
nearly
half
of
all
Indian
voters.
”You
may
be
aware
of
the
recent
exposes
by
the
Washington
Post
newspaper
about
the
role
of
WhatsApp
and
Facebook
in
aiding
the
communal
hatred
campaign
of
the
ruling
BJP.
Specifically,
the
article
cites
details
of
how
this
vile,
communally
divisive
propaganda
is
carried
out
using
WhatsApp
groups
by
BJP
members
and
supporters.
Brave
Daughters
Of
India:
Did
You
Know
Two
Gujarati
Women
Serve
Israeli
Army?
”In
another
article
titled
‘Under
India’s
pressure,
Facebook
let
propaganda
and
hate
speech
thrive’,
the
Post
has
elucidated
with
evidence
the
blatant
partisanship
by
Facebook
India
executives
towards
the
ruling
dispensation.
This
was
well
known
to
us
in
the
Opposition
for
a
long
time
and
have
even
raised
it
several
times
in
the
past,” the
INDIA
bloc
parties
said.
”It
is
very
clear
from
these
exhaustive
investigations
by
the
Washington
Post
that
Meta
is
culpable
of
abetting
social
disharmony
and
inciting
communal
hatred
in
India.
Further,
we
have
data
that
shows
algorithmic
moderation
and
suppression
of
Opposition
leaders’
content
on
your
platform
while
also
promoting
ruling
party
content,”
they
said
in
the
letter
sent
by
AICC
general
secretary
organisation
K
C
Venugopal.
The
opposition
bloc
demanded
that
Meta’s
operations
in
India
remain
neutral.
”Such
blatant
partisanship
and
bias
towards
one
political
formation
by
a
private
foreign
company
is
tantamount
to
interfering
in
India’s
democracy,
one
that
we
in
the
INDIA
alliance
will
not
take
lightly,”
the
letter
further
said.
”In
light
of
the
upcoming
national
elections
in
2024,
it
is
our
earnest
and
urgent
plea
to
you
to
consider
these
facts
seriously
and
ensure
immediately
that
Meta’s
operations
in
India
remain
neutral
and
are
not
used
wittingly
or
unwittingly
to
cause
social
unrest
or
distort
India’s
much
cherished
democratic
ideals,”
it
stated.
They
said
that
it
was
ironical
that
the
parties
had
to
write
the
letter
in
the
birth
anniversary
month
of
Mahatma
gandhi,
the
greatest
champion
of
non-violence
and
social
harmony
in
history.
The
parties
expressed
confidence
that
Zuckerberg
and
Meta
also
yearn
for
a
harmonious
India
that
the
Mahatma
wished
for.
In
their
letter
to
Google’s
Pichai,
they
said
the
recent
expose
by
the
Washington
Post
newspaper
titled
”He
live-streamed
his
attacks
on
Indian
Muslims.
YouTube
gave
him
an
award”
about
the
role
of
YouTube
in
propagating
communal
hatred
and
dividing
Indian
society.
”Specifically,
the
article
cites
details
of
how
this
vile,
communally
divisive
propaganda
is
carried
out
using
YouTube
by
BJP
members
and
supporters.
”It
is
very
clear
from
this
exhaustive
investigation
by
the
Washington
Post
that
Alphabet
and
specifically
YouTube
is
culpable
of
abetting
social
disharmony
and
inciting
communal
hatred
in
India.
”Further,
we
have
data
that
shows
algorithmic
moderation
and
suppression
of
Opposition
leaders’
content
on
your
platform
while
also
promoting
ruling
party
content,”
they
said.
The
INDIA
parties
also
urged
Google
that
its
platforms
operating
in
India
remain
neutral
and
are
not
used
to
cause
social
unrest
or
distort
India’s
much
cherished
democratic
ideals,
especially
during
the
upcoming
elections.
Story first published: Thursday, October 12, 2023, 23:40 [IST]
