'Not ours': Congress denies link to 687 'spam' pages removed by Facebook

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday alleged that Facebook's move to remove 687 pages and accounts linked to the Congress' social media cell had exposed the grand old party's real "character".

Facebook said on Monday it had removed 687 pages and accounts linked to the Congress and a smaller number of what appeared to be pro-BJP accounts, saying they were indulging in "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" on the social media platform

NEW DELHI: Hours after Facebook revealed it removed 687 spam Facebook pages and accounts connected to individuals associated with the Congress IT cell, the party said none of its official pages has been taken down and it was awaiting a response from the social media website to give it a list of pages/accounts that were deleted. "This is to clarify that no official pages run by INC have been taken down. Additionally, all pages run by our verified volunteers are also unaffected. In the mean time, we are awaiting a response from Facebook to provide us a list of all pages/accounts that they have taken down," the Congress said in a tweet. Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said the party needed to check the veracity "whether the Facebook pages are linked to us."

This is to clarify no official pages run by INC have been taken down. Additionally, all pages run by our verified volunteers are also unaffected.

In the mean time, we are awaiting a response from Facebook to provide us a list of all pages/accounts that they have taken down. — Congress (@INCIndia) April 1, 2019

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya joined the chorus against the Congress, saying Facebook's action was "unprecedented." "Facebook's crackdown on pages linked to Congress IT cell is unprecedented. Proves that just like Rahul Gandhi, Congress's digital footprint is also a purveyor of fake news! They can now commission an in-house journalist to write another book on their fraud," Malviya tweeted. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the move had exposed the grand old party's real "character". "Facebook took a strong move by removing 687 pages because Congress people were doing inauthentic behaviour. Congress made fake accounts and groups to push lies. The development shows Congress party's character," Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters at the party office in Jaipur. Javadekar, the BJP's poll in charge for Rajasthan, accused the Congress of using fake accounts to propagate lies. The social media giant said on Monday it had removed 687 pages and accounts linked to the Congress and a smaller number of what appeared to be pro-BJP accounts, saying they were indulging in "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" on the social media platform. (With inputs from agencies)