'The Jharkhand high court on Friday declined to quash an FIR against four tribals for allegedly ‘seditious’ Facebook posts supporting the Pathalgadi movement of Munda tribal community, according to a report in LiveLaw... The prosecution, arguing that the petitioners had incited hatred and violence, cited Facebook posts by the petitioners which said, “I don’t want your Aaadhar card; My identity is ‘Pathargari'” and “All constitutional steps should be taken so that England, USA and UNs feel compelled to act for the freedom of tribals”.
'On February 26, Ashish Joshi, a department of telecom (DoT) official, was suspended. The suspension came one day after Joshi filed a complaint against Kapil Mishra, a controversial MLA, reporting a Facebook video posted by the latter. In the video, Mishra calls for attacks on several prominent actors, activists and politicians including Barkha Dutt, Prashanth Bhushan, Kamal Hassan and Naseeruddin Shah. He claims these individuals are “enemies of the nation” and that they support Pakistan. Additionally, he suggests that they should be dragged out of their homes onto the streets...'
'A dalit professor from Lucknow has faced the ire of the Rajya Karamchari Sahitya Sansthan (State Employees’ Literary Association) for a Facebook post criticising the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A large number of people including students from all walks of the society came forward to protest against this on the streets of Lucknow streets on Sunday evening (March 10).
'For the past two years, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has been in news for a number of reasons. Starting from widespread protests by girl students in 2017 to several students being expelled on frivolous grounds. The latest is an incident wherein a dalit professor was assaulted allegedly over some “objectionable” comment on a Facebook post. On January 29, a dalit professor from the department of sociology was beaten up by a group of students and outsiders, allegedly for posting a comment on a picture of a professor and a female student, as per reports.
'V.P. Rajeena, a journalist based in Kozhikode, has become the target of organised online abuse, after she shared her personal experiences of studying in a madrasa in her younger days. Facebook closed down her profile on Wednesday after mass reporting by her detractors. On Sunday, Rajeena put up a post in the social network on alleged instances of immoral conduct of madrasa instructors, which she claimed to have witnessed. The post touched a raw nerve and set off a torrent of abuses and open threats on her Facebook page and in her message box.
'The Indian government sought the maximum number of content restrictions from the various platforms of social networking behemoth Facebook in the first six months of this year than any other country globally. The world's biggest social networking platform said it granted requests from authorities in India for some 15,155 pieces of content to be blocked on its platform, its WhatsApp and Messenger apps and its photo-sharing app, Instagram. This was revealed by Facebook in its latest report on government data requests for the period between January and June this year...
'Armchair activism isn't a bad word any more. In fact, there's nothing beyond its scope if people decide to sit on a chair and raise their virtual voice. The recent instances of hate against Pakistan and the Shiv Sena-imposed extra-egal ban on artistes, writers and sportspersons from across the border has triggered a spontaneous online campaign that has spurred support beyond boundaries and could hold a lesson for politicians.
'When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg holds his Townhall Q&A in New Delhi on October 28, there is one question I would like him to answer: Will he, please, scrap Facebook’s ‘real names’ policy? As it happens, I can personally vouch for its discriminatory nature, not to mention its breathtaking stupidity. Three weeks ago, Facebook locked me out of my account. Apparently, someone had reported my name as fake. Unless I submitted documentation which proved that I was me, and that my name was my real name, I could not access my account, ever.
'A woman film-maker from Bengaluru has been threatened with rape and acid attack by fundamentalists on her Facebook page for endorsing beef consumption and questioning Hindu practices. Chetana Thirthahalli, a scriptwriter and associate director of Kannada movies, has lodged a complaint with the Bengaluru Police to seek action against those who issued threats to her on social media...'
'Amid the murder of Karnataka rationalist Professor M. M. Kalburgi last month, the earlier death of anti-superstition crusader Narendra Dabholkar in Maharashtra in 2013 and sundry death threats meted out to journalists, an alarming trend can be discerned: those who attack Hindutva groups and their ideas can end up as targets of their hate campaigns and death threats. The even earlier death, in 2012, of journalist Linganna Satyampet in Karnataka is still shrouded in mystery.
