I.N.D.I.A Bloc Accuses YouTube & Meta Of Spreading Hate, Calls For 'Neutrality' From Zuckerberg And Pichai
The letter, shared by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on X, stated that foreign company partisanship "is tantamount to interfering in India's democracy."
The I.N.D.I.A bloc, a coalition of 28 political parties, has taken a strong stance against WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube, accusing them of promoting "the ruling BJP's communal hatred campaign" and suppressing content from opposition leaders. The alliance accused Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a strongly worded letter of actively contributing to social disharmony and incitement of communal hatred in India.
The letter, shared on an undisclosed date by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, directly referenced recent reports from The Washington Post (WP) that exposed the alleged role of WhatsApp and Facebook in aiding what they described as a divisive propaganda campaign by BJP members and supporters. It described the mechanics of these actions performed via WhatsApp groups.
Letter by INDIA parties to @Facebook's Mr. Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) citing the exhaustive investigations by the @washingtonpost that Meta is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 12, 2023
[Letter Below] pic.twitter.com/2wnUa5xHbz
"You may be aware of the recent exposes by the Washington Post newspaper about the role of WhatsApp and Facebook in aiding the communal hatred campaign of the ruling BJP. Specifically, the article cites details of how this vile, communally divisive propaganda is carried out using WhatsApp groups by BJP members and supporters." the letter reads.
“It is very clear from these exhaustive investigations by the Washington Post that Meta is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India. Further, we have data that shows algorithmic moderation and suppression of Opposition leaders' content on your platform while also promoting ruling party content,” it said.
The Washington Post recently published an article titled 'Inside the vast digital campaign by Hindu nationalists to inflame India,' which attributed the BJP's electoral success to "a massive messaging machine built on top of US social media platforms." Another piece published on October 8th, titled 'A toxic mix of tech and hate threatens India's democracy,' accused social media platforms of becoming "conveyor belts for hate under Prime Minister Narendra Modi".
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