oppn parties Facebook Accused Of Pandering To The BJP In Violation Of Its Own Policies

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Facebook Accused Of Pandering To The BJP In Violation Of Its Own Policies

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-08-17 16:17:38

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

A report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has alleged that Facebook did not apply its hate-speech policy strictly in India in the case of several members of the BJP as it feared that it would spoil its good relations with the ruling dispensation and harm its business interests in the country. Facebook has denied the charges and said that its policies are implemented regardless of the political affiliations of the alleged offender. But the denials will have to be taken with a pinch of salt after the damning disclosures in the WSJ report.

The WSJ report has quoted sources from within Facebook - current and former employees - to allege that a senior company officer in India said that they would have to look the other way in the case of violation of hate-speech policy by BJP leaders and workers as otherwise it "would damage the company's business prospects in the country". Reacting to the report, a Facebook spokesperson said that the company prohibits "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."

With its reach and potential to influence people, Facebook can be a highly dangerous platform if it chooses to play favourites. Its alleged role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal where its database was said to be used to influence voters in the US elections in 2016 to favour Donald Trump, is fresh in public memory. Facebook must remember that playing favourites is a double-edged sword - while it may bring in short term gains, it can also cause heavy long term losses if people start going against it for its bias. It must remember that not all Indians are BJP supporters and those who are not will definitely be put off by the attempt to play favourites.

The government must, regardless of the fact that the current beneficiaries are members of its party, take a strict stand if the allegations are true. Hate speech has the potential to ignite passions and start riots. With social media becoming all-pervasive in the pandemic era when people are not able to meet physically, platforms like Facebook have an added responsibility to be fair and equitable in their policies. Further, with online election campaigning becoming the norm, at least for the next 6 to 9 months, social media platforms must not allow any political party to have a free run.

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