The Government as the gatekeepers of Indian public opinion

by Samuel James, MCJ I

As the crisis environment in our nation reaches a new peak, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become synonymous with life rafts in a sinking ship. The swelling case load has far outstripped accessible medical supplies particularly of oxygen and social media platforms seem to be the only resort for people to seek emergency medical aid and for supplies of oxygen. But it has also prompted criticism of the government’s response to the crisis, criticisms that the government has decided to deal with in an outright unconstitutional manner. Following a legal request from the government, Twitter blocked over 50 tweets that were mostly critical of the government. According to a media report, the government felt these posts constituted social media misuse.

On 23 April, Dr Devlina Chakravarty of Artemis Hospital, Gurgaon sought emergency help through a tweet. The tweet read that the hospital was in its last leg of oxygen and that it had not received the promised oxygen supply replenishment from the government. It ended with a desperate plea for help, “Only three hours left! Please help us urgently!” However, a few hours later, Twitter suspended her account.

Five days later, Facebook blocked posts and content under the hashtag ‘#ResignModi’ amid the growing uproar on social media demanding for the Prime Minister’s resignation over the government’s handling of the pandemic. Users searching for the hashtag saw a message that it apparently went against their ‘community standards.’ The hashtag remained restricted for about three hours before Facebook reversed the decision. Facebook’s explanation doesn’t fair well with the critics. It simply stated that it was a ‘mistake.’

For a person of some level of rational temperament, one wouldn’t need to do rocket science to recognise a deliberate attempt to curb criticism of the government’s state of ‘policy paralysis.’ In an interview with BBC, BJP national spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal responded to accusations stating that “all social platforms have to comply with the rules and regulations of the content of the country.”

Wow. It’s rather appalling that such attempts to curb the freedom to express criticism isn’t done behind the curtains anymore, here we have someone proudly supporting something so blatantly against the Indian Constitution, leaving one wondering if its ignorance or a hunger to remain in power that drives them. The government had also explicitly ordered and instructed Twitter to block tweets citing ‘disinformation.’ When social media giants and even journalists succumb to the creeping authoritarian nature of a government, it is best that we take in every information with a questioning mind. As the people in power continue evading the questions, they are actively trying to distract and shift the narrative through the medias. Why else would they need to censor pictures and posts related to the oxygen crisis, the mass cremations and heart-wrenching cries of the people from the capital? Why does it hurt them when the truth is reported? Maybe endlessly burning pyres hurt their narrative.

It leaves one wondering about the ideals and principles espoused by the very leaders that we as a nation has elected. The level of ignorance is paramount with regard to even the most fundamental constitutional right of an Indian citizen, the right to freedom of speech and expression.

Maybe this is all a good thing, simply proving that news media giants could well be the PR agents of a government trying to manipulate your opinion, or perhaps a wake-up call to use your ballot-right more responsibly. Time will tell? No, it already has. It is more fitting to end this on a comical note, so here’s a tweet by our current Prime Minister from three years back, “I want this Government to be criticised. Criticism makes democracy strong.” And here, he’s actually right. Jai Hind.