By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over “systematic influence and interference” of social media in electoral politics, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said that global companies such as Facebook and Twitter are being used increasingly to shape political narratives by leaders, parties and their proxies.
Sonia was speaking during zero hours in Lok Sabha. She urged the government to prevent their intrusion to protect ‘democracy and social harmony’ in the country.
“It has repeatedly come to public notice that global social media companies aren’t providing a level playing field to all parties. Blatant manner in which social harmony is being disturbed by Facebook in connivance with the ruling establishment is dangerous for our democracy,” said the Congress leader.
She described it as an issue of paramount importance and warned against “the rising danger of social media being abused to hack our democracy.”
She further said that new reports show a growing nexus between big corporations, the ruling establishment and global social media giants like Facebook and Twitter.
The Congress chief also added that young and old minds are being ‘filled with hate’ through emotionally charged disinformation and proxy advertising companies like Facebook are profiting from it.
“Young and old minds are being filled with hate through emotionally charged disinformation and proxy advertising companies like Facebook are aware of it and are profiting from it. I urge the government of India to put an end to the systematic influence and interference of Facebook and other social media giants in electoral politics of the world’s largest democracy. This is beyond parties and politics. We need to protect our democracy and social harmony regardless of who is in power,” the Congress chief said.
Meanwhile, Congress on Wednesday accused the government of seeking to spread hatred in society through ‘The Kashmir Files’ and said India will not be run by films but by government policy and governance.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rehabilitate Kashmiri Pandits instead of spreading hatred in society.
“Life will not be run by seeing or showing films and spreading hatred and division in society. Modi ji should tell when will our Kashmiri Pandits be rehabilitated and should give us a date as his government is there both at the Centre and in the state,” he said.
He said Modi should also tell how many Kashmiris have been rehabilitated and given jobs and how many houses and how much compensation have been given to them.
“India is not a film but a reality. India will not be run by films but by government’s policy and governance,” he said.
Surjewala also alleged that the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits happened during the V P Singh government, which was supported by the BJP.
The BJP should answer why it did not withdraw support from the government at that time.
He also claimed that successive Congress governments had rehabilitated many Kashmiris and provided them with jobs and houses, whereas the Modi government did nothing for them except its rhetoric.
The UPA government brought schemes, packages and gave government jobs to more than 3,000 families and built 5,911 houses and gave them to Kashmiri Pandits, he said.
In comparison, Surjewala claimed, the Modi government has given jobs to only 520 families in eight years and only 1,000 houses to Kashmiri Pandit families.
He said 4,241 terrorists were killed in the 10 years of the UPA government, whereas 1,419 terrorists have been killed in eight years of the Modi dispensation.
Examples cited
Sonia Gandhi referred to a report in Al Jazeera and The Reporters’ Collective claiming that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements.
(With PTI Inputs)
