What's new

India uses opaque legal process to suppress Kashmiri journalism, commentary on Twitter [Update #63]

MenInG

PakPassion Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Runs
217,977
NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has written to microblogging site Twitter to remove eight accounts run by people outside Jammu and Kashmir, amid intelligence reports that they were being run on Pakistan's behest.

These accounts have been "spreading rumours and misinformation to disturb peace and calm in (Kashmir) valley," Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba said in a letter to Twitter, according to a senior official in the ministry who asked not to be named.

"These handles were circulating fake news and the language they used in the tweets is a clear indication that they were either being run by (Pakistan's spy agency) ISI or the Pakistan Army," a senior police officer told NDTV.

"These twitter handles are not from (Kashmir) valley. The information being shared is wrong and we have asked Twitter authorities to take action as per the law and also request citizens not to believe the malicious campaign," Inspector General of Kashmir range Swayam Prakash Pani told NDTV.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Jammu and Kashmir Police and other security agencies have been warning social media users not to believe in rumours about alleged large-scale violence in Jammu and Kashmir, which is under lockdown since the centre scrapped special status and divided it into two union territories last week.

"We do not comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons. Legal requests made to Twitter are published twice-yearly in our Twitter Transparency Report," a Twitter spokesperson said, according to news agency PTI.

The CRPF on Monday dismissed as "malicious" a tweet by a Pakistani journalist about an alleged rift between the central force and the Jammu and Kashmir Police. The post on the alleged clash was made by Pakistani journalist Wajahat Saeed Khan from his verified Twitter handle.

"The malicious content of this tweet is absolutely baseless and untrue. As always, all the security forces of India are working with coordination and bonhomie. Patriotism and our tricolour lie at the core of our hearts and existence, even when the color of our uniforms may differ," the CRPF tweeted.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The malicious content of this tweet is absolutely baseless and untrue. As always, all the security forces of India are working with coordination and bonhomie. Patriotism and our tricolour lie at the core of our hearts and existence, even when the color of our uniforms may differ. <a href="https://t.co/1Rhrm09dPN">pic.twitter.com/1Rhrm09dPN</a></p>— &#55356;&#56814;&#55356;&#56819;CRPF&#55356;&#56814;&#55356;&#56819; (@crpfindia) <a href="https://twitter.com/crpfindia/status/1160859263327068166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Jammu and Kashmir Police also said it has written to Twitter seeking technical details of the user. "The Twitter handle 'WSK' is spreading rumours through his tweets very frequently which are leading to law and order situation in Kashmir valley which in turn is a threat to lives of general public and that of security forces... The tweets could lead to clashes between various communities," the state police said in the letter.

Jammu and Kashmir today celebrated Eid-al-Adha amid massive security restrictions, with the government sharing photos of prayers at smaller neighbourhood mosques in Srinagar as streets remained deserted and watched by security personnel.

Reports said prayers were not allowed at major mosques in Srinagar and large gatherings stayed banned across the Kashmir valley. The Jammu and Kashmir police tweeted that Eid prayers had been peaceful.

A Home Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday that there had been "stray protests" in Srinagar and Baramulla, none of which involved a crowd of more than 20 people. The Home Ministry has dismissed media reports about a protest by some 10,000 people in Kashmir valley as "fabricated and incorrect".

The government said people must not believe in rumours about alleged incidents of firing in Kashmir valley.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah's National Conference has appealed in the Supreme Court against the government's decision. In its petition - filed by party MPs Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi - the party claimed the centre's move was "illegal".

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/rem...re-tells-twitter-2084200?pfrom=home-topscroll
 
Lol. What??

They're definitely hiding something.
Waj is a respected journalist in Pakistan and posts up with reliable news.
I've never seen him go OTT about India unlike Zaid Hamid.
 
WSK has got them on the run. This need to control the narrative will be their downfall, how can you control information in this current age?

Poor saffron wearing friends. That's what happens when an idiotic murderous tea seller is your head honcho, demonitisation and things like this make perfect sense in that pee (sic) sized brain of his.
 
It's probably true. Wajahat is an Emmy-award nominated journalist, not some random reporter.
 
Just look at Waj's profile:
"Wajahat Saeed Khan (born 1978), is an Emmy-award nominated Pakistani multimedia journalist. He has produced and anchored for Pakistan’s major cable networks, reported for international networks as well as edited and written for local, regional and global publications."

The way the Indian government are coming after him is quite disturbing tbh.
 
i saw this earlier and thought nothing of it, random people like zaid hamid always tweeting this kinda stuff, but the ferocity of India's reply is telling.
 
Just look at Waj's profile:
"Wajahat Saeed Khan (born 1978), is an Emmy-award nominated Pakistani multimedia journalist. He has produced and anchored for Pakistan’s major cable networks, reported for international networks as well as edited and written for local, regional and global publications."

The way the Indian government are coming after him is quite disturbing tbh.

So you do agree with his opinion and reporting?
 
So you do agree with his opinion and reporting?

I don't know whether the claim he made is true or not but I agree with his reporting authenticity. He's been reporting for quite some time now in national and international news. He's not a nobody.
The reaction from the J&K police is quite weird though.
 
Waj is a bit of a drama queen, so don't really take him that seriously when it comes to social media. His lengthier reports or interviews can be interesting, though.

However, the Indian media and their social media followers are jumping on each and every thing that contradicts their narrative. Even if there is proof. As usual, they have taken it to the next level by posting abusive messages and random rude comments in reply to just about any Pakistani social media personality, whether they post anything related to Kashmir or India, or not.
 
Waj is a bit of a drama queen, so don't really take him that seriously.

However, the Indian media and their social media followers are jumping on each and every thing that contradicts their narrative. Even if there is proof. As usual, they have taken it to the next level by posting abusive messages and random rude comments in reply to just about any Pakistani social media personality, whether they post anything related to Kashmir or India, or not.

The downsides (or a pro for an indian) of a large population. The percentage of keyboard warriors increase by a lot.
The abuse that the BBC are getting is just outstanding. They're not even the only ones reporting the protests.
It looks like some Indians consider the claims from the government as some sort of a holy message.
 
Last edited:
I don't know whether the claim he made is true or not but I agree with his reporting authenticity. He's been reporting for quite some time now in national and international news. He's not a nobody.
The reaction from the J&K police is quite weird though.

Got it ,hopefully you start following his Twitter handle.
 
Maybe if there weren't reporting restrictions then this sort of thing could be easily verified?

What a shame the world's largest democracy is upset at someone reporting the news.
 
Maybe if there weren't reporting restrictions then this sort of thing could be easily verified?

What a shame the world's largest democracy is upset at someone reporting the news.

Free speech is being rejected just coz the world's largest democracy is too scared coz they fear retribution from a small kashmiri population. What a democracy!
 
Neutral sources. I wish respected journalists like him validated their sources more.

Neutral sources in a zone where there are reporting restrictions?

Are you being intellectually dishonest again?
 
Wajahat is a respectable journalist.

Can’t say if it’s true or not but still.......
 
Considering how urgently the Indians are trying to shut him down probably what WSK said is 100% true. He is no Arnab Goswami or any other Indian journalist to spread fake news.
 
Considering how urgently the Indians are trying to shut him down probably what WSK said is 100% true. He is no Arnab Goswami or any other Indian journalist to spread fake news.

You have a valid point.

Why would anyone ban a Twitter account of someone who is “reporting” an incident?
 
EBysIy8XkAAYy7g.jpg
 
lol Waj?

I never understood why people take him so serious. He is just a dramaybaaz bas, he only focuses on showing off his outlook not on the content.

He goes way overboard quite often
 
lol Waj?

I never understood why people take him so serious. He is just a dramaybaaz bas, he only focuses on showing off his outlook not on the content.

He goes way overboard quite often

Yeah who can forget his dramaybaazi here when he went to interior Sindh and couldn't contain his tears after seeing the dilapidated conditions of the hospitals and the people suffering there.




Zinda hai Bhutto zinda hai..... beghairat Bhuttos
 
remember him for his message to imran khan, where the best part was eulogising the qualities of a khan and how imran should act like a true khan.
 
So if someone point out the frustration of coward security force then he should be ban.
Anyway best thing is they are killing each other & becomes shaheed in hindustan.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It is totally incomprehensible that <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Twitter</a> has suspended my account only because I commented on the Indian defence Minister's statement on "no first use."<br><br>It's a shame I had to delete a harmless tweet to be back on Twitter!!!</p>— Kamran Yousaf (@Kamran_Yousaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kamran_Yousaf/status/1162326085276786689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What was the tweet in question? And what was the notification you got???</p>— Secunder Kermani (@SecKermani) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKermani/status/1162329801211953152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/SecKermani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKermani</a> following is the screenshot of the tweet I had to delete... <a href="https://t.co/C3UN801WXI">pic.twitter.com/C3UN801WXI</a></p>— Kamran Yousaf (@Kamran_Yousaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kamran_Yousaf/status/1162330947141996544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Twitter</a> why are you behaving like Indian Govt’s owned outlet?? Suspended account of Pakistani journalists just for stating facts and speaking truth? This is really incomprehensible.. we can accept that if it’s hate speech but truth must not hurt anyone <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FreedomofExpression?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FreedomofExpression</a>? <a href="https://t.co/cXHY2wVGAr">https://t.co/cXHY2wVGAr</a></p>— Waseem Abbasi (@Wabbasi007) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wabbasi007/status/1162327357908279302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pakistan authorities have taken up case with Twitter & Facebook against suspending Pakistani accounts for posting in support of Kashmir. Indian staff at their regional Headquarters is the reason. Please post in reply suspended accounts that you know.</p>— Asif Ghafoor (@peaceforchange) <a href="https://twitter.com/peaceforchange/status/1162859253683695617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
KARACHI: The government has specified to the micro-blogging site Twitter 200 accounts that were suspended in the past week apparently for posting about Kashmir, Dawn has learnt.

Over the last one week, a large number of Pakistanis have taken to Twitter to report that accounts were being suspended after they posted in support of Kashmir. The claim came from journalists, activists, government officials and fans of the military tweeting in support of Kashmir freedom. Simultaneously, #StopSuspendingPakistanis was trending on Twitter in Pakistan.

Earlier on Sunday, Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had said the authorities had taken up with Twitter and Facebook the suspension of Pakistani social media accounts posting content in support of Kashmir.

“Pakistan authorities have taken up the case with Twitter and Facebook against suspending Pakistani accounts for posting in support of Kashmir. Indian staff at their regional headquarters is the reason,” he had tweeted on his personal account.

Giving details about the complaint lodged with Twitter, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Digital Media Arslan Khalid told Dawn that the Pakistan Telecommu*nication Authority (PTA) had lodged an official complaint with Twitter’s regional office on Monday.

“We are approaching this case with a multi-pronged strategy where PTA has sent the complaint mentioning [200] accounts to the regional office seeking an explanation for their suspension. We are also working on a long-term strategy through the National IT Board (NITB) so that such a situation does not arise again,” he said.

Twitter, he said, held no right to moderate political debates on its platform which were well within its community guidelines.

When asked to confirm the number of accounts specified to Twitter, the PTA said it would issue a statement on the matter soon.

A list of accounts — provided to Dawn by the focal person — reportedly suspended over Kashmir in the past week, includes Twitter handles run by some government officials as well.

One such account is of the focal person to the Punjab chief minister on digital media, Mashwani Azhar. A screenshot of Twitter’s notice to Mr Azhar purports that the platform suspended the account for impersonation.

“His account was suspended for impersonation when he was tweeting on Kashmir. Another example is of Waqas Amjab of the housing ministry. The biased behaviour of Twitter over Kashmir is ridiculous,” said Mr Khalid.

“Over 45 Twitter accounts have been suspended in the last few days and the count is increasing,” said NITB CEO Shabahat Ali Shah while speaking to Dawn.

“I have written a letter to VP of the Trust and Safety wing of Twitter on behalf of the Government of Pakistan and expressed our concern about the recent suspension of Twitter accounts in context of launching protests against Indian atrocities on Kashmir. We have also mentioned there is a potential of public outburst against suspended accounts which could put human lives in imminent danger,” he shared.

In the letter, he added, Twitter had been requested to verify government officials’ accounts. “At least government accounts should not be suspended without prior notice to the authorities. The government, too, will document content posted through official channels and review complaints lodged against them,” said Mr Shah.

“I have given them [Twitter] till Aug 23 to respond after which I will reach out to its CEO Jack Dorsey. The last step will be to write a letter, with Foreign Office endorsement, to the United Nations,” he warned.

Twitter denies bias

Twitter, however, maintains that it enforced policies judiciously and ensured impartiality of all users, regardless of their political beliefs and country of origin.

Responding to allegations of censorship and biased moderation on its platform, a Twitter spokesperson told Dawn that they were founded on the principles of free expression and there was no political bias in its content review teams that determine what content is considered a violation of its rules.

“We believe people on all sides of an issue have a fundamental right to discuss them within the boundaries of our policies, which prohibit terrorism, hateful conduct, platform manipulation, and abuse. At Twitter no one is above our rules.”

Unlike Facebook, which has the greatest number of fact-checking partners in India, Twitter is yet to introduce policy on political misinformation. “Twitter exists to serve the public conversation, including in national and regional events of political importance,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson did not comment on the reasons that led to certain accounts — specified in the email — being suspended. “We don’t comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons,” the official said.

Twitter did not deny or acknowledge the spike in government requests from India or Pakistan following the development on Kashmir.

Interestingly, Twitter’s compliance with requests from the Indian government has improved in the recent past. For the 422 information requests from India between July-Dec 2018, there was 18pc compliance from Twitter. Out of the 667 account removal requests, the platform withheld 95 accounts and 141 tweets.

For Pakistan, however, Twitter has declined all requests for account information and removal as per the latest transparency report (July-Dec 2018).

“Twitter needs to issue a statement explaining its moderation process. There is no transparency on why certain tweets on Kashmir are in violation of its rules and how it decides to restrict content on its platform,” said Nighat Dad of the Digital Rights Foundation while speaking to Dawn.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1500457/200-accounts-suspended-over-kashmir-reported-to-twitter
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Twitter Legal emailed to say they received a request from ‘India’ about my account for this tweet of a drawing for Kashmir as it ‘violates the laws of India.’ I want you to think how deep this atrocity goes if the government can’t handle a drawing in solidarity. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandwithKashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandwithKashmir</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cl30kgpnJ1">https://t.co/Cl30kgpnJ1</a></p>— Shubnum Khan (@ShubnumKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShubnumKhan/status/1163743543380316166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Twitter Legal emailed to say they received a request from ‘India’ about my account for this tweet of a drawing for Kashmir as it ‘violates the laws of India.’ I want you to think how deep this atrocity goes if the government can’t handle a drawing in solidarity. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandwithKashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandwithKashmir</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cl30kgpnJ1">https://t.co/Cl30kgpnJ1</a></p>— Shubnum Khan (@ShubnumKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShubnumKhan/status/1163743543380316166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[MENTION=76058]cricketjoshila[/MENTION]

Is twitter reporting team in your department?
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rcvd notice from Legal Dept <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Twitter</a> to remove 02 tweets after request to Twitter by Government of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#India</a> <br>Tweets included sharing of a <a href="https://twitter.com/dawn_com?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dawn_com</a> newspaper story filed by <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AFP</a> & sharing of a prog clip of <a href="https://twitter.com/ARYNEWSOFFICIAL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ARYNEWSOFFICIAL</a> <br>Is <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TwitterIndia</a> aiding in censorship by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#India</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/3RXlzH3Ash">pic.twitter.com/3RXlzH3Ash</a></p>— Arshad Sharif (@arsched) <a href="https://twitter.com/arsched/status/1163803181090070528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Meanwhile...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Indians won't stop with the fake accounts. This guy is a "Balochistani" and not Baloch. He is also the Doogie Howser of the military as he managed to become a "senior officer" despite being a Lt. <a href="https://t.co/sMlKTM3KI1">pic.twitter.com/sMlKTM3KI1</a></p>— ST (@shobz) <a href="https://twitter.com/shobz/status/1164190684171177984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
fake news will be curbed. For example, twitter won't delete if your post has " India will commit genocide. Save Kashmir". It will be discarded if it has "India is committing genocide. Save Kashmir". The first one is rampant speculation but will still be allowed. Pakistanis need to be a bit crafty
 
Fake accounts and accounts spreading misinformation will be reported and Twitter will decide if it will suspend them or not.
 
Fake accounts and accounts spreading misinformation will be reported and Twitter will decide if it will suspend them or not.

Clearly that isn't the only target.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Twitter Legal emailed to say they received a request from ‘India’ about my account for this tweet of a drawing for Kashmir as it ‘violates the laws of India.’ I want you to think how deep this atrocity goes if the government can’t handle a drawing in solidarity. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandwithKashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandwithKashmir</a> <a href="https://t.co/Cl30kgpnJ1">https://t.co/Cl30kgpnJ1</a></p>— Shubnum Khan (@ShubnumKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShubnumKhan/status/1163743543380316166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/XESW7gtEkl">pic.twitter.com/XESW7gtEkl</a></p>— Shubnum Khan (@ShubnumKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShubnumKhan/status/1163745065543618560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The biggest irony is that this drawing was mostly unknown but by trying to shut it down, the Indian government has given it so much more attention. Thank you to everyone for sharing it. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithKashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithKashmir</a></p>— Shubnum Khan (@ShubnumKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShubnumKhan/status/1163881755931267073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Miandad's Twitter account suspended, wonder if he had posted something about Kashmir there.
 
I don't blame India for this. They are just doing what every enemy does. Blame the Pak government who has no deal with any such social media organisation at all. As I say the enemy knows IK's government is reactive not proactive.
 
Twitter will no longer suspend Pakistani accounts: govt

Social networking website Twitter will no longer unilaterally suspend or terminate user accounts originating from Pakistan, according to a statement made to the press by the government.

On August 19, the government of Pakistan, in a letter to Twitter Vice President Trust and Safety Del Harvey, had said accounts of users from Pakistan were shut down without warning or prior notice.

The letter further said that suspending such accounts had caused massive unrest, resentment and anger among the general public, and asked Twitter to amend their policy this regard.

Chairman of the National IT Board Shabahat Ali Shah met with Twitter officials recently in which important issues between the Twitter administration and the government of Pakistan were discussed.

The government statement further revealed that Twitter will no longer unilaterally suspend the accounts of Pakistani users and will contact the government of Pakistan in case of any complaint beforehand.

During the meeting, the issue of suppressing the voice of Pakistani Twitter users by Indians also came under discussion, in which Twitter officials were told that hundreds of Pakistani Twitter accounts were suspended for raising their voice for Kashmiris.

Twitter officials were told that after India’s illegal annexation of occupied Kashmir, there had been an increase in Indian bullying through Twitter. Twitter said it will change the way accounts were suspended henceforth.

Many Pakistani users had complained that Twitter had suspended or restricted their accounts when they expressed their support with the people of Indian occupied Kashmir.

The platform was used by thousands of Pakistani and Kashmiri users to heap praise on Prime Minister Imran Khan for raising the Kashmir issue and exposing the Indian government’s policy of ethnic cleansing.

Following the speech, social media users posted thousands of tweets to eulogise their leader by using the hashtag "Voice of Kashmir”, which became a global trending topic.

Soon, Pakistani Twitter accounts using the hashtag were suspended. To record their protest, thousands of Pakistani users started posting tweets under the hashtag #IndiaHijackedTwitter.

A large number of users also tagged Twitter CEO Jack Patrick Dorsey in their messages, accusing the portal of attempting to suppress their voice against Indian atrocities.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/250575-twitter-will-no-longer-suspend-pakistani-accounts-govt
 
Twitter needs to separate Pakistan from Indian regional Twitter HQ. Pakistan needs an own regional body who manage reports originating for Pakistani accounts.

Twitter India has proven to be biased and cannot be trusted with handling of Pakistani accounts.
 
Twitter needs to separate Pakistan from Indian regional Twitter HQ. Pakistan needs an own regional body who manage reports originating for Pakistani accounts.

Twitter India has proven to be biased and cannot be trusted with handling of Pakistani accounts.

I don't think that will make Pakistani accounts immune to suspension for spreading fake news.
 
Highlighting Kashmir is now a fake news.

RSS sympathizers never ceases to amuse rest of the world.

Lol
 
KASHMIR: TWITTER REMOVES ALMOST 1 MILLION TWEETS, ACCUSED OF BOWING TO INDIAN CENSORSHIP

Twitter has been accused of bowing to Indian censorship and suppressing freedom of speech in Kashmir, after nearly one million tweets were removed.

Almost 100 accounts were also made inaccessible to locals in the last two years, spurring claims that Twitter is contradicting the very values it purports to uphold.

The findings were revealed in a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday, showing that Twitter agreed to block more accounts in the region than in every other country combined.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Twitter has bowed to the Indian government and has agreed to censor accounts sharing news and information from Indian-occupied <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jammu?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jammu</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kashmir</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/pressfreedom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pressfreedom</a> says <a href="https://t.co/ZOFrQ5UKFA">https://t.co/ZOFrQ5UKFA</a></p>— David Beard (@dabeard) <a href="https://twitter.com/dabeard/status/1187577342383874048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It comes as council elections were held across the Indian-controlled territories in Kashmir on Thursday. The elections followed almost three months of severe crackdown on free expression beginning with New Delhi's revocation of the area's semi-autonomous status on August 5.

Reuters reported that roughly 4,000 people were detained by mid-September following the move, with journalists, activists and politicians among them, however, the CPJ's findings show that the crackdown on Twitter users—abetted by the company—started more than two years ago.

Data released by Twitter to Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center and its Lumen project, which was then published publicly and analyzed by the CPJ, showed that legal notices to the company directing them to take down tweets or accounts started to spike in August of 2017.

Since that time, Twitter agreed to uphold 131 of the 4,722 requests from Indian officials to remove content. That stands in stark contrast to the one approved request following roughly 900 requests made between 2012 and 2017.

Although the percentages may seem small, each request can contain scores of tweets and accounts. Since August of 2017, over 920,000 tweets that referenced Kashmir were removed.

The 131 upheld requests also make up 51% of all accounts withheld by Twitter worldwide.

"It totally makes sense the Indian government would go after Twitter and Twitter users, because Twitter as a platform is a really significant source of information sharing, for journalists and activists and regular citizens in Kashmir," David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression, told CPJ.

Kaye has previously expressed his concerns about Twitter's "opaque" policy of removing content related to Kashmir at the behest of India, writing a letter to CEO Jack Dorsey in 2018 stating that the company needs to do more to challenge Indian censorship.

Experts told the CPJ that Twitter could do more to fight the legal notices in court—an avenue, the experts said, has not been explored.

Among those silenced in the last two years were the news outlets The Kashmir Narrator and The Voice Kashmir.

"In Kashmir, the Indian government wants whatever news there, to stay there," an administrator for The Voice Kashmir, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told CPJ. "If they snatch social media away from us—where else can we share our voice?"

Twitter has faced similar criticism in Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has launched his own crackdown on freedom of speech and the social media giant has complied with his government's requests.

In response to accusations of censorship in how the company handles these government requests, a spokesperson for Twitter said: "Many countries have laws that may apply to tweets and/or Twitter account content.

"There is a transparent process for governments or authorized legal entities around the world to submit requests to Twitter.

"Twitter is committed to the principles of openness, transparency, and impartiality."
https://www.newsweek.com/twitter-re...hmir-accused-bowing-indian-censorship-1467721
 
Twitter is free to walk away from India, if they have problems abiding the law.
 
Indians are free to walk away from the rest of the world if they are to get bent out of shape over honest criticism.
 
Pakistanis getting into a twist over an issue between India and an american company.

Twitter believes it should abide by the laws of India and not whims of Pakistanis.
 
Issue between India and American company? That appears to be a gross oversimplification of the issue at hand. I am sure if twitter removed tweets based on Chinese laws, you wouldn't be using the same logic.
 
KASHMIR: TWITTER REMOVES ALMOST 1 MILLION TWEETS, ACCUSED OF BOWING TO INDIAN CENSORSHIP

Twitter has been accused of bowing to Indian censorship and suppressing freedom of speech in Kashmir, after nearly one million tweets were removed.

Almost 100 accounts were also made inaccessible to locals in the last two years, spurring claims that Twitter is contradicting the very values it purports to uphold.

The findings were revealed in a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday, showing that Twitter agreed to block more accounts in the region than in every other country combined.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Twitter has bowed to the Indian government and has agreed to censor accounts sharing news and information from Indian-occupied <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jammu?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jammu</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kashmir</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/pressfreedom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pressfreedom</a> says <a href="https://t.co/ZOFrQ5UKFA">https://t.co/ZOFrQ5UKFA</a></p>— David Beard (@dabeard) <a href="https://twitter.com/dabeard/status/1187577342383874048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It comes as council elections were held across the Indian-controlled territories in Kashmir on Thursday. The elections followed almost three months of severe crackdown on free expression beginning with New Delhi's revocation of the area's semi-autonomous status on August 5.

Reuters reported that roughly 4,000 people were detained by mid-September following the move, with journalists, activists and politicians among them, however, the CPJ's findings show that the crackdown on Twitter users—abetted by the company—started more than two years ago.

Data released by Twitter to Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center and its Lumen project, which was then published publicly and analyzed by the CPJ, showed that legal notices to the company directing them to take down tweets or accounts started to spike in August of 2017.

Since that time, Twitter agreed to uphold 131 of the 4,722 requests from Indian officials to remove content. That stands in stark contrast to the one approved request following roughly 900 requests made between 2012 and 2017.

Although the percentages may seem small, each request can contain scores of tweets and accounts. Since August of 2017, over 920,000 tweets that referenced Kashmir were removed.

The 131 upheld requests also make up 51% of all accounts withheld by Twitter worldwide.

"It totally makes sense the Indian government would go after Twitter and Twitter users, because Twitter as a platform is a really significant source of information sharing, for journalists and activists and regular citizens in Kashmir," David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression, told CPJ.

Kaye has previously expressed his concerns about Twitter's "opaque" policy of removing content related to Kashmir at the behest of India, writing a letter to CEO Jack Dorsey in 2018 stating that the company needs to do more to challenge Indian censorship.

Experts told the CPJ that Twitter could do more to fight the legal notices in court—an avenue, the experts said, has not been explored.

Among those silenced in the last two years were the news outlets The Kashmir Narrator and The Voice Kashmir.

"In Kashmir, the Indian government wants whatever news there, to stay there," an administrator for The Voice Kashmir, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told CPJ. "If they snatch social media away from us—where else can we share our voice?"

Twitter has faced similar criticism in Egypt, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has launched his own crackdown on freedom of speech and the social media giant has complied with his government's requests.

In response to accusations of censorship in how the company handles these government requests, a spokesperson for Twitter said: "Many countries have laws that may apply to tweets and/or Twitter account content.

"There is a transparent process for governments or authorized legal entities around the world to submit requests to Twitter.

"Twitter is committed to the principles of openness, transparency, and impartiality."
https://www.newsweek.com/twitter-re...hmir-accused-bowing-indian-censorship-1467721

Original CPJ article: https://cpj.org/blog/2019/10/india-opaque-legal-process-suppress-kashmir-twitter.php
 
Issue between India and American company? That appears to be a gross oversimplification of the issue at hand. I am sure if twitter removed tweets based on Chinese laws, you wouldn't be using the same logic.

If these tweets are not available in India, Indian laws wont apply. Twitter can make tweets appear or disappear based on geographical location.

FYI, China has no twitter.
 
Like I’ve said, Indians can walk away away from rest of the world if they can’t handle truth and are easily offended by honest criticism of India.

On every forum India will be asked about Kashmir unless it’s a government run organization.
 
Facebook blocks live streaming of PBC news bulletins over Kashmir coverage: Radio Pakistan

Facebook has blocked live streaming of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation's (PBC) news bulletins for highlighting Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.

However, temporary arrangements have been made to continue live streaming of Radio Pakistan's bulletins on YouTube, the report added.

In its report, Radio Pakistan has included screenshots of earlier warning messages received from the social-media giant, dating back to May, warning the public broadcaster of violating "community standards on dangerous individuals and organisations".

Specifically, these posts were from news stories about the death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani in July and the curfew imposed after the death of Zakir Musa, also a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, in May.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Monday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan stated that Pakistan has to move away from international [social media] platforms in order to become more self-reliant.

Talking about Kashmir, she said: “As we have seen, every time we try to highlight human rights violations on social media platforms, such as Facebook, the accounts are suspended”.

“We have raised our voices against this before and will do so again in the future and will have those accounts restored,” she added.

Social media censorship
In 2016, Facebook came under fire for censoring dozens of posts related to the death of Wani, reported The Guardian. Photos, videos and entire accounts of academics and journalists as well as entire pages of local newspapers were removed for posting about the occupied valley. The Indian government had imposed curbs on newspapers as well but residents of occupied Kashmir complained that censoring posts on Facebook made information blackouts worse.

Due to limited access to newspapers and TV channels, journalists and news organisations would keep readers informed by updates on social media, until the social media giant started censoring news articles and updates about occupied Kashmir. The Facebook account of Kashmiri journalist Huma Dar, who is based in the United States, was deleted soon after she posted pictures of Wani's funeral and was told that she had "violated community standards" when she wrote to the social media giant.

"The biggest irony is that I get death threats, I get people saying they’ll come and rape me and my mother. None of those people, even when I complain to Facebook, have ever been censored," she told The Guardian.

More recently, Twitter faced criticism after rights activists voiced concerns over the removal of hundreds of tweets critical of the Indian government's policies in occupied Kashmir, reported Al Jazeera.

According to the Al Jazeera report, a study by a media watchdog revealed that nearly one million tweets had been removed since 2017.

In August, Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had said Pakistani authorities had taken up with Twitter and Facebook the alleged suspension of Pakistani social media accounts posting in support of Kashmir.

Of the 17,807 content restrictions made by Facebook globally, the highest number — over 31 per cent — of the requests originated from Pakistan between January and July 2019, according to the platform’s latest transparency report released in November.

Facebook restricted 5,690 items within Pakistan during the first half of 2019, as compared to 4,174 pieces from the second half of 2018.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1525252/f...ulletins-over-kashmir-coverage-radio-pakistan
 
Back
Top