Many Social Media Accounts Posting Contents On Farmers Protest Withheld: Report

Many accounts associated with the ongoing farmer”s protest have been withheld by Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), according to a report. The report says many social media accounts that continuously post on farmers” protests have been withheld.

Among the accounts withheld in India are the X accounts and Facebook pages of farm leaders Sarvan Singh Pandher, the coordinator of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), Tejveer Singh Ambala, the spokesperson of BKU, farmer leader Ramandeep Singh Mann, Surjit Singh Phull from BKU Krantikari, farmer leader Harpal Sangha and Ashok Danoda, The Wire reported.

The Wire quoting farmer leader Ramandeep Singh Maan reported that Mr Singh Maan said he received a message from X that his account was withheld on the night of February 12. He said he got the message when he was attending a meeting between farmers and Union ministers. When the farmer leader showed the message to Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the minister told him he was not aware of the matter.

Apart from this, several other individual and organisational accounts, including a media outlet, were also withheld. A page ‘Gaon Sawera’ is run by an independent journalist Mandeep Punia and his personal account is among the social media accounts which faced the issue. Mr Punia has been a key vocal supporter of the farmer”s protest

Mostly a message like “Your account has been withheld in IN [India] in response to a legal demand” is received by the victims of the alleged government move to confront the protest. Notably, the official account that launched the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march has not been withheld yet.

Similarly, during the 2021 farmers” protest, the government withheld the accounts of the farmer”s leaders and many farmers union pages.

Since February 13, launching the “Delhi Chalo” march, farmers have been protesting raising a few of their demands including the creation of a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops