'Facebook, WhatsApp Controlled by BJP, RSS,' Accuses Congress After Wall Street Journal Report; Demands JPC Probe

Tagging the Wall Street Journal report on the issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "BJP and RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate.

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Based on a report in Wall Street Journal , Congress party on Sunday accused the BJP and RSS of controlling social media sites Facebook and WhatsApp in India and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into alleged violations by the social media platform and its messaging service. Congress has alleged that BJP and its parent organisation RSS have attacked democracy in the country. Tagging the Wall Street Journal report on the issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "BJP and RSS control Facebook and 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."

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. pic.twitter.com/Y29uCQjSRP

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 16, 2020

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: "Facebook - WhatsApp sinister connection to BJP government exposed! Is Facebook being used to spread 'Fake News' and 'Hate Material'? What is the connect of Facebook-India leaders to BJP? "Does it not warrant a JPC probe?" Congress spokesperson and former Union Minister Ajay Maken, while addressing a virtual press conference: "There are 40 crore Indians on WhatsApp and over 28 crore on Facebook. So, a probe is necessary into the commercial dealings, propagation of hate content, and connection of Facebook and WhatsApp employees with the BJP." "The bias and alignment of the Facebook India's leadership team with the BJP and RSS is not limited to just their Head of Public Policy in India. There are many others in that leadership team with a close working relationship with the BJP." The Congress said that the government too should clarify the "quid pro quo" with WhatsApp and Facebook and what type of business dealings they had with the government. The party leaders quoted sentences from the Wall Street Journal story to stress their points. In the report published on Friday, the US newspaper cited interviews with unnamed Facebook insiders to claim that one of its senior India policy executives intervened in internal communication to stop a permanent ban on a BJP MLA from Telangana after he allegedly made communally charged posts. The United States' Congress has summoned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and investigated its role in election manipulation in the past. The UK too has issued warnings to Facebook. Facebook was accused of similar interference in Brazil.