Ravi Shankar Prasad slams Twitter for using biased fact-checkers

In a blistering assault towards Twitter, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad raised questions over the identification and the appointment of the so-called fact-checkers which are utilized by the social media behemoth to manage the content material posted on its platform. Prasad slammed social media web sites, most notably Twitter, for using prejudiced “fact-checkers”, who harboured visceral hatred for PM Modi.
Social media corporations have already got appointed truth checkers. Who are these fact-checkers and the way are they appointed? There are some fact-checkers whose foremost agenda is drive hatred towards Modi. pic.twitter.com/NGDPucI8ea— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) May 29, 2021
“There are many fact-checkers employed by the company. For example, if someone tweets something, these fact-checkers check whether it is right or wrong. Who are these fact-checkers? Neither are their names made public, nor there is any information on how they have been appointed. These people have the responsibility of regulating what 130 crore Indians can tweet,” Prasad mentioned.
Criticising that the fact-checkers employed by social media organisations are inherently jaundiced towards PM Modi, Prasad mentioned a few of them are bankrolled by forces that need the nation to be dismembered into smaller states.
He mentioned, “These fact checkers have just one agenda: Hate Modi. They don’t want to criticise, they just want to hate Modi. And these people are financially supported by such people who want to see country split into pieces. Is it not our job to monitor this? In a country of 130 crores, can’t you get neutral objective fact-checkers? These questions will be asked and they should be asked,” Prasad mentioned.
The Minister for Electronics and Information Technology additionally faulted Twitter for the accusations it had levelled towards the federal government of India. Prasad mentioned the corporate has all the fitting to function the best way it desires to however the best way it operates can’t stay shrouded in secrecy.
“What you do is your job and your right. But how you do it should be made public. That’s why the government had to release an elaborate response yesterday. A US-based for-profit making company is lecturing us on democracy? They are teaching us about the freedom of expression? This is unacceptable,” Prasad emphatically added.
The controversy erupted after Twitter presumptuously added the “manipulated media” label towards tweets posted by BJP leaders on the Congress toolkit. A case is happening within the matter, with the Delhi Police claiming that Twitter had been offering evasive, obfuscatory solutions to the questions relating to proof that proved the toolkit to be faux. The controversy additionally got here at a time when the Indian authorities introduced in new digital legal guidelines. Most of the social media platforms barring Twitter have complied with the brand new legal guidelines.
Indian authorities points a strongly worded response to Twitter over its deceptive and obfuscating statements
Prasad’s criticism of Twitter got here days after the Indian authorities responded with a strongly worded rebuttal to Twitter’s deceptive and obfuscating statements to media immediately relating to Indian legal guidelines and its so-called insurance policies. The govt has acknowledged that “protecting free speech in India” is the accountability of the Indian authorities and never the prerogative of a personal, for-profit, international entity like Twitter.
Calling Twitter’s assertion ‘an attempt to dictate its terms to the world’s largest democracy, the Union ministry fo Electronics and IT acknowledged that by way of its actions and deliberate defiance, Twitter is in search of to undermine India’s authorized system. The ministry acknowledged that Twitter is refusing to adjust to the very rules within the middleman tips on the premise of which it’s claiming a secure harbour safety from any felony legal responsibility in India.
If Twitter is so dedicated, why it didn’t arrange such a mechanism in India by itself?, the ministry requested, whereas stating that Twitter India representatives routinely attempt to evade accountability by claiming they haven’t any authority and the folks of India must attain out to Twitter headquarters within the USA. It referred to as Twitter’s claims of ‘commitment to India’ as hole and self-serving.