Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath
The police in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, have filed a criminal case against a man who used Twitter to appeal for an oxygen cylinder for his grandfather,
The Wire reported on Wednesday.
Shashank Yadav had not mentioned if his grandfather had the coronavirus. However, the police filed an FIR against him for allegedly circulating a rumour with the intent to cause fear or alarm.
The police claimed that the man was “spreading misleading information”, according to
The Indian Express. Sub-inspector Virendra Singh of the Ramganj police station claimed that Yadav provided false information on oxygen supply and the coronavirus to target the Uttar Pradesh government. “It was found during the inquiry that because of the accused’s false tweet, several persons made allegations against the government,” Singh told the newspaper.
Representative image. | Manan Vatsyayana/AFP
The United States on Monday said that the Indian government’s order asking social media platforms to remove content critical of the country’s handling of the pandemic was not aligned with its view of freedom of speech.
The comment from White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki came days after Twitter took down 52 tweets on the coronavirus situation in India, complying with the Narendra Modi government’s request. The tweets included those posted by Congress MP Revanth Reddy, West Bengal minister Moloy Ghatak, actor Vineet Kumar Singh and filmmakers Vinod Kapri and Avinash Das.
The Indian Express reported. Unidentified sources in the ministry claimed that the content was “unrelated, old and out of the context images or visuals, communally sensitive posts and misinformation about COVID19 protocols”.
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The government welcomes criticism, genuine requests for help as well as suggestions in the collective fight against Covid-19, but it is necessary to take action against those users who are misusing social media during this grave humanitarian crisis for unethical purposes, one of the people said.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered blocking of the posts on a recommendation from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
On Saturday, it was reported that Twitter had removed around 50 tweets allegedly criticising the central government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic on MeitY’s instructions. These included tweets of Congress MP Revanth Reddy, West Bengal minister Moloy Ghatak, actor Vineet Kumar Singh and two filmmakers, Vinod Kapri and Avinash Das, according to a post by tech portal Medianama.
Twitter removes at least 52 tweets critical of Indian govt s pandemic response siasat.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from siasat.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.