The INDIA alliance fired off letters to Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai on Thursday, accusing them of aiding “the communal hatred campaign of the ruling BJP” and suppressing Opposition leaders’ content.
INDIA’s letters to Google and Facebook demanded that the platforms maintain ‘neutrality’ in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls, underscoring their strong objection to what they see as political favoritism on social media.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge shared the letter on X, writing, “The letter by INDIA parties to Facebook’s Mr Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) cites the exhaustive investigations by The Washington Post, which suggest that Meta is culpable of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India.”
The letters came after The Washington Post reported on Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube’s alleged bias favoring the ruling BJP and the Narendra Modi regime.
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The letter reads, “We are writing on behalf of the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), an alliance of 28 political parties in India that represents the combined opposition coalition. We are the ruling alliance in 11 states and represent nearly half of all Indian voters.
The Washington Post newspaper cited the role of WhatsApp and Facebook in aiding the communal campaign of the ruling BJP. Specifically, the article cites details of how this vile, communally divisive propaganda is carried out using WhatsApp groups run by BJP members and supporters.
Another article mentioned by the newspaper, titled ‘Under India’s Pressure, Facebook Let Propaganda and Hate Speech Thrive,’ elucidated with evidence the blatant partisanship by Facebook India executives toward the ruling dispensation. “This was well known to us in the opposition for a long time, and we have even raised it several times in the past,” the INDIA bloc parties said.
“It is very clear from these exhaustive investigations by The Washington Post that Meta is guilty of abetting social disharmony and inciting communal hatred in India. Furthermore, we have data that shows algorithmic moderation and suppression of opposition leaders’ content on your platform while also promoting ruling party content,” the letter stated.
The letter also expressed concerns about the perceived favoritism and partiality of a private foreign company towards a particular political group. “We, as members of the INDIA alliance, view this as interference in India’s democracy and will not overlook it.”
“In light of the upcoming national elections in 2024, it is our earnest and urgent plea to you to consider these facts seriously and ensure immediately that Meta’s operations in India remain neutral and are not used wittingly or unwittingly to cause social unrest or distort India’s much-cherished democratic ideals,” it added.