Rahul Gandhi said his Twitter account has been blocked. (File)
New Delhi:
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal last month, alleging a government campaign to block his reach on the platform, according to the report. a letter seen by NDTV.
In a December 27 letter that included analysis of data from his Twitter account as well as comparisons with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, Gandhi said that while he added an average of about 4 thousand followers. in the first seven months of 2021, growth abruptly stopped for the next few months suspension for eight days last August.
Rahul Gandhi said he suddenly stopped gaining new followers on Twitter.
During the same period, other politicians maintained their new following.
Rahul Gandhi said that his Twitter account was targeted starting in August.
“Perhaps it is no coincidence that it is during these months that I have raised the plight of a family of rape victims in Delhi, in solidarity with farmers and fighting with the government on many other human rights issues. In fact, a video of me promising farmers that the infamous 3 farm laws would be repealed was one of the most viewed Twitter videos posted by any political leader in India during this time. recent times,” wrote Mr. Gandhi.
“I have been reliably informed by everyone at Twitter India that they are under tremendous government pressure to silence me. Government people included, have posted similar photos of me. those people tweeted. None of those accounts were blocked. My account was targeted separately,” he added.
“I am writing to you on behalf of over a billion Indians to not allow Twitter to be a pawn in destroying the idea of India,” Mr. Gandhi said.
A Twitter spokesperson quoted by news agency ANI said the follower count was “meaningful” and “accurate”. “Twitter has a zero-tolerance approach to platform manipulation and spam. We strategically and scale combat spam and malicious automation with machine learning tools and as part of our efforts. that consistent and ongoing effort to ensure a healthy service and trustworthy accounts, the number of possible followers and the spokesperson said.
Follower count is a conspicuous feature, and we want people to trust that the numbers are meaningful and accurate. Twitter takes a zero-tolerance approach to platform manipulation and spam: Twitter protests Rahul Gandhi’s letter to Twitter saying his follower count is down (1/3) pic.twitter.com/HiU0QORYcR
– ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2022
Earlier, a Twitter spokesperson cited by The Wall Street Journal declined to comment on Gandhi’s allegations but said that follower numbers fluctuate as the company uses machine learning to fight spam and manipulation. added that millions of accounts are deleted every week for violating twitter policies. activities such as malicious automation.
However, Congress rejected the explanation with Srivatsa YB, digital communications officer for Mr Gandhi’s office, telling the paper, “This is not an exhaustive explanation nor is it a complete explanation. a satisfactory response… The chronology of events does not corroborate Twitter’s claims.”
Twitter and other social networking platforms like Facebook have faced increasing scrutiny in India, and last year the company flagged a “potential threat to freedom of expression” in the country. this and the “use of intimidation tactics by the police” when clashing with the government over new regulations for the sector. The statement was prompted by a visit by the Delhi Police to their offices during a political controversy involving Parliament and the government.
Read the full letter here:
