Published 12:26 IST, October 22nd 2020
Centre warns Twitter's CEO after it misrepresents India's map & shows Leh & J&K in China
Ajay Sawhney, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics & IT, has written a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey conveying strong disapproval of the Indian govt
In a significant development, Ajay Sawhney, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and IT has written a letter to Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, conveying the strong disapproval of the Indian government over misrepresentation of the map of India. Twitter had shown the geo-location of Leh in 'Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Republic of China' and failed to fix its misrepresentation the first time around.
As per sources, in the letter, the Secretary of Electronics and IT ministry has asked to Twitter to respect the sensitivities of Indian citizens and emphasized that any attempt by Twitter to disrespect the sovereignty and integrity of India, which is also reflected by the maps, is totally unacceptable. The Indian government representative has also said in his letter that it is unlawful to do so. Giving a stern warning to Twitter, Sawhney has pointed out that such an incident brings disrepute to Twitter but and raises questions about its neutrality and fairness. Secretary IT has categorically stated that Leh is headquartered of the Union Territory of Ladakh and both Ladakh as well as Jammu and Kashmir are integral and inalienable parts of India governed by the Constitution of India.
National Security Analyst Nitin Gokhale who highlighted the outrageous discrepancy said, "The government has written a letter now after I pointed out the anomaly. It is high time that Twitter fixes all the problems. On Sunday they showed Leh as part of China and on Monday they showed Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir which is incorrect. Leh is now part of UT of Ladakh. I don't know if Twitter has taken a step to that point because if they haven't then this amounts to Twitter disregarding the government's decision to reorganize J&K into UTs. If nothing else, the government should impose a hefty penalty for violating Indian laws. I hope the Government's letter mentions all this fact."
Twitter displays J&K as part of China
On October 18, Twitter came under fire again for displaying Jammu-Kashmir's Leh as a part of 'People's Republic of China'. National Security Analyst Nitin Gokhale who was live on Twitter near Leh airport, noticed that his location was displaying as 'Jammu and Kashmir, People's Republic of China'. This anomaly was raised by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) chairman Kanchan Gupta to Twitter India, stating that it was not an 'isolated incident', but that several netizens who were logging online faced the same issue.
Taking to Twitter, Gokhale had narrated, "This morning, I was live on Twitter along with Rohit Pandita to apprise people of my journey to Ladakh from Himachal Pradesh via a new road. After we finished our broadcast, to our horror, we found that the location we had put of our location of the War Memorial, Hall of Fame - a famous landmark in Leh came as Jammu and Kashmir, the People's Republic of China. I apprised Twitter by tagging them, expecting them to take action, but except for anger from people of India, nothing happened."
He added, "We tried again by doing an experimental live with a different broadcast, but again the same results came up. Even now if you go live in areas near Leh airport, Leh's Hall of fame, it shows as 'J&K, People's Republic of China'. I do not know why this is happening, but it is my duty to inform you about it."
Twitter's spokesperson then issued a statement on the same saying that they were aware of the sensitivities around the issue of Kashmir. The statement also stated that teams are investigating to resolve the concerned geo-tagging issue. "We became aware of this technical issue on Sunday, & understand & respect the sensitivities around it. Teams have worked swiftly to investigate & resolve the concerned geotag issue."
Twitter's previous slights with respect to India
This has not been Twitter's first such error with regards to India. After the abrogation of article 370, Republic TV had exposed the vicious fake news campaign on social media by Pakistan by sharing an edited video of Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. The heavily edited video from Republic TV's The Sunday Debate with Arnab Goswami from February 24 - just ten days after the horrific Pak-backed Pulwama terror attack was shared by handles from Pakistan with malintent and with an aim to propagate ISI propaganda. While the original tweet had been deleted, several such copies were being circulated and Twitter did not take action.
Similarly, Pakistan President Arif Alvi had posted out a video trying to "show" the world about 'atrocities in J&K', claiming it to be from Srinagar, in August 2019. Inspite of J&K administration clarifying it that it was fake, Twitter refused to take action against the fake news peddled by Pakistan. The micro-blogging website, in its mail to Pakistan President claimed that it investigated the fake news posted by Arif Alvi and that it could not identify any violation of Twitter Rules or applicable laws. Apart from failing to act on fake news, the micro-blogging site has been accused of condoning caste discrimination and hierarchy on its social media platform, with activists demanding equality in blue ticks- all or none.
Updated 12:26 IST, October 22nd 2020