Facebook says it blocked hashtag calling for PM’s resignation by mistake

Users of social media giant Facebook reported that the platform seems to be censoring posts with the hashtag #ResignModi. Several users posted that Facebook blocked access to such posts and was displaying the message that read some posts with #ResignModi were hidden as some content goes against “our community guidelines.”

Andy Stone, Communications chief for Facebook posted on Twitter saying that “This hashtag has been restored and we are looking into what happened.”

Olivia Solon, Editor, Tech Investigations at NBCNews also said that in the latest update Facebook has said, “We temporarily blocked this hashtag by mistake, not because the Indian government asked us to, and have since restored it.”

This comes on the backdrop of the Indian government sending notices to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and others asking to block over 100 posts which seemed to be criticising the government’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic in India.

The hashtag #ResignModi was again trending on Twitter with the hashtag #Anti_India_Facebook.

The government claimed that it has directed social media platforms like Twitter to block close to 100 posts in order to “prevent obstructions” to the fight against the pandemic and escalation of crimes against public order.

They said certain people were using social media platforms to spread fake or misleading information and create panic about the situation in India by using “unrelated, old and out of the context” images or visuals, communally sensitive posts and misinformation about the Covid-19 protocols.