Rahul Gandhi claims that, BJP-RSS use social media platforms to spread the fake news and hatred and also to influence the electorate.
Facebook and Whatsapp are in the middle of controversy with the allegations of Congress party that Facebook gave a advantage to the leaders of the BJP, ruling party, when they shared online communally sensitive content because not restricting them would hit the Facebook’s business interests, became a major issue on Sunday, when Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and RSS of controlling the Facebook and WhatsApp in India, and Congress demands a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Rahul slammed Bhartiya Janta Party and he claimed that they had used the social media platforms to spread the fake news and hatred and also to influence the electorate, party said that the social media must set up an inquiry to protect the credibility and immediately remove all those Facebook India staff, who had any link with the BJP party.
Congress party’s Praveen Chakravarty, chief of data analytics and head of social media, Rohan Gupta also stated that they already had provided evidence of clear bias to the Senior management of Facebook in India and America, but no response yet.
A news report by the Wall Street Journal on August 15 said Facebook flouted its own policies on hate related speech and allowed the communally sensitive content shared by the T Raja Singh, BJP’s MLA, Telangana remained online because not doing so would have hit it’s business interests, stated in Wall Street Journal news report on 15th, August.
Chakravarty said in reference to the News report that, “The content of the article was a mere confirmation of what we already knew.”
Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP, who heads the Parliamentary standing committee on Information Technology stepped into the controversy. Supporting to Rahul Gandhi’s tweet on accusing the BJP and RSS of controlling the social media, Tharoor added, “The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology would certainly wish to hear from Facebook about these reports & what they propose to do about hate-speech in India.”
In other tweet, he said Facebook has also been summoned in the past. “Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic “Safeguarding citizens’ rights & prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms”. The subject is squarely within the IT Cmt’s mandate & @Facebook has been summoned in the past (sic).”
Mahua Moitra, MP, All India Trinamool Congress agreed with Tharoor said, “I agree – we in the IT Comm need to look into this on an urgent basis please.(sic)”
On 16 August, in response to a question on whether the Congress party will approach the Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg and seek his intervention, Ajay Maken, Congress party leader said the party would raise the issue with the highest authorities. “Facebook global should set up an inquiry for not following their own rules,” he said.
