Facebook, WhatsApp Controlled by BJP And RSS to Spread Fake News, Influence Voters in India: Rahul Gandhi on WSJ Report

New Delhi, August 16: Congress lawmaker Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its political ideologue Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) together control Facebook and WhatsApp in India. In a tweet, Rahul Gandhi also accused the BJP and RSS of spreading fake news and hatred to influence voters. His remarks were in reference to a report that claimed Facebook was lenient on hate speeches made by members of the BJP. PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Cowardice’ Allowed China to Occupy Indian Land, Tweets Rahul Gandhi.

"BJP & RSS control Facebook & Whatsapp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook," the Wayanad MP tweeted. He was referring to an article published in Wall Street Journal on Friday, which claimed that Facebook’s senior India policy executive Ankhi Das intervened in internal content review processes to stop action against BJP’s Telangana MLA T Raja Singh when he made offensive remarks against Muslims. Rahul Gandhi Should Not Play With National Security For Cheap Politics: BJP.

BJP, RSS Control Facebook and WhatsApp in India, Tweets Rahul Gandhi:

Notably, Raja Singh's posts were found to be in violation of Facebook's hate-speech rules by employees charged with policing the social media network, said the WSJ report. The employees concluded that Singh should be banned from the platform under a policy called “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations". However, Das, according to the WSJ report, "told staff members that punishing violations by politicians from Mr Modi’s party (BJP) would damage the company’s business prospects in the country".

Facebook, which also owns WhatsApp, has rejected the WSJ report. A Facebook spokesperson said: "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. While we know there is more to do, we’re making progress on enforcement and conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 16, 2020 03:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).