Name: Facebook accused of promoting hate speech in India
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Facebook accused of promoting hate speech in India

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, right, hugs Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at Facebook offices in Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook India is under fire. (Files/AP)https://arab.news/6ay4wNEW DELHI:&nbsp;Facebook was accused Monday of promoting hate speech and destabilizing democracy in India by the country’s main opposition Congress Party.The social media giant has one of its biggest markets in India, with more than 340 million users.But a report last week in the Wall Street Journal said the platform had ignored incendiary messages posted by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protect its business interests.Facebook did not delete an anti-Muslim video posted by a southern Indian legislator, T. Raja Singh, in March until the newspaper challenged the social network about it.It added that Facebook India’s public policy executive, Ankhi Das, opposed applying “hate speech rules to Singh and at least three other Hindu nationalist individuals and groups flagged internally for promoting or participating in the violence.”Das, according to the paper’s report, told employees that “punishing violations by politicians from Modi’s party would damage the company’s business prospects in the country.”“Across the world, in many countries, Facebook has removed pages citing ‘coordinated inauthentic behavior,’ but why has Facebook never done something similar with rumor-mongering and hate speeches in India?” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said at a press conference on Monday. “With all responsibility, I will say that Facebook’s inaction destabilizes our democracy. More often than not, Facebook takes no action and, even worse, allows objectionable content to continue despite being brought to notice.”Facebook denied the accusations, saying that it did not favor any political party in India.“We prohibit hate speech and content that incites violence, and we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyone’s political position or party affiliation,” it said in a statement to Arab News. “While we know there is more to do, we’re making progress on enforcement and conducting regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy.”Congress wants a parliamentary committee inquiry into the issue.“The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) should examine how Facebook and WhatsApp are working to help the BJP in the elections and to create an atmosphere of hatred,” it said in a statement.The BJP mocked the opposition’s demand and said the party should “look within itself.”“It’s ridiculous,” BJP spokesperson Sudesh Verma told Arab News. “If the allegation itself is ludicrous, the demand for the JPC probe would come in the same category. You imagine something and then make a demand. The country does not work on this. If anything, they should approach Facebook. It has given clarifications already. The Congress leadership is frustrated.”Experts said that the BJP had “weaponized” Facebook and WhatsApp and was using them as a strategy to “mold” public opinion.“The top brass of Facebook in India are bending over backwards to placate the ruling BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” New Delhi-based journalist Paranjoy G. Thakurta told Arab News.Thakurta co-authored a book last year - “The Real Face of Facebook in India” - that explored how social media was propagating falsehoods in the country.“Large numbers of Indians have been receiving fake, false, half-truth, inflammatory, incendiary information, and this influenced political preferences in the run-up to the election in 2019,” he said. “They weaponized WhatsApp, and it has become like an army for the rightwing group. Facebook and WhatsApp are not neutral. The playing field is not level. The Wall Street Journal article has highlighted how deep the nexus is between the top officials of Facebook and India’s ruling regime.”Another New Delhi-based journalist, Urmilesh Urmil, said Facebook was “ideologically- oriented” and favored the ruling right-wing party.“This is a matter of concern and affects the functioning of democracy in India,” he told Arab News.In April, Facebook announced plans to invest $5 billion in Reliance Jio, the largest mobile and internet company in India. It is owned by the country’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani.The deal is expected to give Facebook an even more significant foothold in India.“The fact that this international global digital giant is tied up with India’s biggest telecommunication provider Reliance Jio means that global monopoly and the local bigwig have come together,” Thakurta added. “I worry how much control and influence these large conglomerates will have in influencing what people read and watch, thereby influencing attitudes and preferences, including their political behavior.”NEW DELHI:&nbsp;Gopalan Balachandran’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing since news broke last week that his niece, Kamala Harris, had been nominated by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate, making history as the first black woman nominee on a major party ticket.However, the candidate’s 79-year-old maternal uncle said that he wasn’t surprised to learn of of his niece’s achievement.“My instinct told me that she would make it. Kamala has strong credentials. For us, it’s a matter of pride,” the New Delhi resident told Arab News.Harris, 55, a US senator from California, was born to an Indian mother and Jamaican father. If elected, she will be second in line to the presidency after Biden.Her aunt,&nbsp;Dr. Sarala Gopalan, a gynecologist in the south Indian city of Chennai, credits her win to “good values” and a desire to stand for what is right.“Kamala has been brought up by her mother with good values, and she understands how to fight for her rights and liberties,” Gopalan said.She last met Harris in the US city of Detroit earlier this year, and says keeping in touch with her extended family is one of Harris’ most endearing qualities.“Whenever she is in India, she meets the families. Last time, she came in 2009 with her mother’s ashes,” Gopalan said, adding that Harris was always “kind and caring” as a child.Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, moved to the US from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu in 1959, while her father, Donald Harris, migrated from Jamaica.On Saturday, Harris recalled her Indian roots during a joint address with Biden to the Indian community in Washington.“When my mother, Shyamala, stepped off the plane in California as a 19-year-old, she didn’t have much in the way of belongings. But she carried with her lessons from back home, including ones she learned from her parents, my grandmother and my grandfather. They taught her that when you see injustice in the world, you have an obligation to do something about it,” Harris said.“That is what inspired my mother to march and shout on the streets of Oakland, at the height of the civil rights movement, a movement where leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, were inspired by the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi,” she said. The timing couldn’t be more telling.As India grapples with growing divisiveness, there is a sense of hope among some that Harris would be tough on New Delhi’s handling of the Kashmir dispute and issues faced by the country’s Muslim minority.“Kamala has a strong sense of public service and feels strongly about human rights’ issues. Like many world leaders, she also expressed concern about human rights violations in Kashmir,” Balachandran said.After the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status last year, the entire region had been placed under strict lockdown, with several rights activists and politicians held in indefinite detention.&nbsp;“We’ve to remind the Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world. We are keeping a track on the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands,” Harris said in Texas at the time.Kashmir-based political analyst Gowhar Geelani said that it is unlikely Harris will as “soft” as US President Donald Trump on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“Kamala Harris is a no-nonsense person when it comes to human rights, which matter to her more than her ancestry,” Geelani told Arab News.The Indian government and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been less than vocal on Harris’ nomination and refused to comment on Friday.“In general, the Indian government would not like to comment on the electoral process of any other country,” foreign ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.However, the news did elicit a reaction from Ram Madhav, BJP general secretary, who tweeted: “First Indian and Asian woman to get the nomination as official VP (vice president) candidate.”Meanwhile, several civil rights activists in India said they were “optimistic” about Harris’ future role.“The US under Donald Trump has failed to put the kind of pressure it should have on the Modi regime in its dealing with Muslim minorities and curtailing civil rights in the country,” Sarah Mojibi, a New Delhi student, told Arab News.Mojibi joined protests against the BJP’s Citizenship Amendment Act, which offers nationality to Hindus and Christians living in neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but excludes Muslims.“Harris inspires us both as a leader and individual, and we hope our voice will have some resonance in the international community,” she said.Print Edition© 2020 SAUDI RESEARCH &amp; PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, right, hugs Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at Facebook offices in Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook India is under fire. (Files/AP)https://arab.news/6ay4wNEW DELHI:&nbsp;Facebook was accused Monday of promoting hate speech and destabilizing democracy in India by the country’s main opposition Congress Party.The social media giant has one of its biggest markets in India, with more than 340 million users.But a report last week in the Wall Street Journal said the platform had ignored incendiary messages posted by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)...

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Facebook accused of promoting hate speech in India

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