Real or Fake, We Can Make Any Message Go Viral: Amit Shah to BJP Social Media Volunteers
New Delhi: While addressing the party’s social media volunteers in Rajasthan’s Kota recently, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah said that the group had the power to make any message go viral, whether real or fake.
“All of Rahul Gandhi’s followers are foreigners, don’t be afraid of hired goons. It is through social media that we have to form governments at the state and national levels. Keep making messages go viral. We have already made a WhatsApp group with 32 lakh people in Uttar Pradesh; every morning they are sent a message at 8 am,” Shah was quoted as saying by the Dainik Bhaskar.
Then, the Hindi daily reported, Shah told the volunteers a story. “Once, a volunteer made a fake story – that Akhilesh Yadav had slapped Mulayam Singh – go viral. Quickly, this message spread across the country. I also was made aware of this, everyone was talking about it. The information turned out to be false. You can do such things – but I’m not saying you should. I hope you understand what I am really trying to convey to you! We should keep making messages go viral, whether they are real or fake, good or bad.”
In Kota, as the assembly and general elections come closer, Shah seems to have deviated from his own previous advice to social media volunteers. At a meeting in New Delhi in July this year, Shah reportedly told the party’s social media “warriors” to refrain from posting fake news as it could damage their credibility. “The party president asked us to avoid committing mistake of posting fake pictures, data and messages on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. He said such action endangers our credibility before the people,” Times of India had quoted a participant as saying.
Courtesy: thewire.in
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Thiruvananthapuram: Fathima Thahiliya, a 34-year-old advocate, has won the Perambra Assembly constituency, defeating CPI(M) leader T.P. Ramakrishnan by 5,087 votes. She secured 81,429 votes in a closely contested election.
Thahiliya is a postgraduate in law from the University of Calicut. She began her journey in student politics and rose through the ranks of the Muslim Students Federation before entering mainstream politics. She later served as a councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation and is currently practising at the Calicut District Court.
She completed her B.A. LL.B from Government Law College, Kozhikode, and LL.M from Government Law College, Thrissur. She also serves as State Secretary of the Muslim Youth League.
Her candidature was among the few women candidates backed by the party and drew attention in a constituency considered a Left stronghold.
Soon after her candidacy was publicized, she faced intense cyber harassment, with her social media flooded with sexually explicit and derogatory remarks. She was abused and targeted for her identity as a young Muslim woman wearing a hijab, questioning her ability to contest elections.
Another controversy erupted during the campaign over the “Kauminte Kutti” remark, after allegations that campaign messages linked to the Left Democratic Front portrayed her as a “community candidate,” triggering political backlash and complaints to the Election Commission.
