'The government's official communications agency on Friday apologised for releasing a digitally altered image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aerial survey of flood-affected areas in Tamil Nadu the previous day, saying the photo it had issued as a "merger of two pictures". In the 24 hours since, social media users have had a field day putting out their own hilarious memes of the situation. Prime Minister Modi had flown to Chennai on Thursday evening to assess the situation in the flood-swamped city and surrounding areas.
'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.
'On November 23, Aamir Khan made a statement on how his wife is scared of the growing disquiet in the country. His statement attracted opinions from across the country; politicians, fellow actors and people active on social media. But it has not only affected people’s opinion about him, it has also affected the brand he endorses. Snapdeal seems to be drawing a lot of flak only because Aamir is its brand ambassador. People took to Twitter starting another campaign called #AppWapsi asking others to not buy anything from Snapdeal and uninstall the app.
'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...
'...Published below is the text of a note that has been circulating over different social media platforms. We have left the typographical and printing errors as they are in the original. Paranoid in its content, it is also illustrative of the way the RSS ‘rumour-machine’ works to produce lies. In earlier days, it used to start circulating from the morning shakhas via the shakha participants. Nowadays it moves from one social media platform to another, with lightning speed. The text below is remarkable and though distasteful, needs to be published in public interest.
'The government is arresting separatists and shutting down social media to thwart the ‘Million March’ challenge to Modi’s Srinagar rally tomorrow... What threatens to upset the PDP’s plans is the call for a ‘Srinagar Million March’ on November 7 by separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, which has found support from other separatists as well. To make matters worse, the march is expected to culminate at the TRC Ground, just metres away from the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium, the Prime Minister’s venue.
'Karnataka’s roster of incidents of intolerance is only growing. The latest headline on the subject has been the abuse of Kannada filmmaker and writer Chethana Tirthahalli. Tirthahalli filed a complaint against a man who threatened her with dire consequences after she endorsed beef consumption and questioned certain Hindu practices on social media, newspapers reported.
'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 BJP leader, in-charge of its membership drive here, was today arrested for allegedly assaulting and intimidating a woman councillor of his own party. "Navin Raman Patel was arrested for assaulting and intimidating a woman councillor of BJP, Simple Tandel, at a programme held by the party in a hotel in Nani Daman area today," Police Station Officer at Nani Daman area Sohil Jivani said. The act of attack of the BJP leader went viral on various social networking sites as it was caught on CCTV camera...'
