Twitter has labelled as "manipulated media" a tweet of BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on the alleged toolkit prepared by the Congress to target the Modi government. Twitter says it "may label Tweets that include media (videos, audio, and images) that have been deceptively altered or fabricated." The label on Patra’s tweet comes a day after the Congress wrote to Twitter asking it to permanently suspend the accounts of BJP leaders including party chief JP Nadda and Union minister Smriti Irani for allegedly "spreading misinformation and unrest in the society."
According to Twitter, users are not allowed to deceptively promote synthetic or manipulated media that are likely to cause harm. “In addition, we may label Tweets containing synthetic and manipulated media to help people understand their authenticity and to provide additional context,” Twitter says. The opposition party had insisted that the toolkit documents flagged by the BJP are fake and had filed a police complaint against its leaders. The Chhattisgarh police has registered an FIR to probe the matter.
"We've formally written to Twitter seeking suspension of Twitter accounts of BJP leaders who are indulging in spreading forged documents attributing to Congress," said Congress' social media department head Rohan Gupta. “While an FIR has already been lodged, the independent fact-checkers too have blown the lid off BJP's propaganda," he also said on Twitter.
The Congress leaders also asked Twitter to carry out a detailed probe on the subject and "permanently suspend the Twitter accounts of the individuals, as the said persons are habitual of manufacturing forged content and misusing the Twitter platform for disseminating the same."
The BJP has been attacking the Congress over some controversial content of the so-called toolkit. BJP leaders, including Patra, have posted numerous tweets to attack the Congress over the toolkit.
Patra's tweet, now labelled "manipulated media" had posted a document and said, "Friends look at the #CongressToolKit in extending help to the needy during the Pandemic! More of a PR exercise with the help of Friendly Journalists & Influencers than a soulful endeavour.Read for yourselves the agenda of the Congress (sic)."