Twitter has finally released a statement after the whole ¡®manipulated media¡¯ kerfuffle surrounding BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra and Congress Party (reported first by Reuters).?
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The statement comes days after Delhi Police raided the Twitter offices regarding the tagging of the posts. It also served a notice to the country head for Twitter, asking for a probe into its wrongly tagging of Sambit Patra¡¯s tweet. The statement highlights the company is worried about the safety and wellbeing of its staff in India.?
The Twitter spokesperson said, "Right now, we are concerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people we serve."
"We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global Terms of Service."
Twitter, along with several other social media platforms are currently under scrutiny surrounding their compliance status with the new MeitY guidelines for social media and OTT plantforms.?
Regarding that, Twitter has said, "Twitter is deeply committed to the people of India. Our service has proven vital for public conversation and a source of support for people during the pandemic."
Twitter added, "To keep our service available, we will strive to comply with applicable law in India."
"But, just as we do around the world, we will continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commitment to empowering every voice on the service, and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law."
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The spokesperson added, ¡°We plan to advocate for changes to elements of these regulations that inhibit free, open public conversation. We will continue our constructive dialogue with the Indian Government and believe it is critical to adopt a collaborative approach. It is the collective responsibility of elected officials, industry, and civil society to safeguard the interests of the public."
BJP spokesperson, Sambit Patra in a tweet, shared screenshots of a document that was highlighted as ¡®Congress Toolkit¡¯ which according to him was allegedly a way the opposing party was trying to malign the efforts made by the BJP government.?
Congress, however, claimed that the documents were fake and that they were placed on a fake letterhead. Upon this notification, Twitter went ahead and marked the post as ¡®manipulated media¡¯.
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This didn¡¯t really sit well with MeitY who in a statement said that Twitter being an intermediary should behave like one, ¡°Twitter unilaterally chose to go ahead & designate certain tweets as 'Manipulated', pending investigation. This action not only dilutes the credibility of Twitter but also puts a question mark on status of Twitter as an Intermediary.¡±