2 NIT Kurukshetra students drown in canal
Kurukshetra (PTI): Two students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) drowned in the Bhakra canal in this Haryana city, police said on Wednesday.
Both were third-year students of Civil Engineering.
Station House Officer (SHO) at Adarsh Police station Devinder Kumar said on Tuesday evening six students of NIT Kurukshetra had gone for a picnic and a bath at the Narwana Branch of the Bhakra canal at Jyotisar, near here.
Rahul, a resident of Prayagraj in UP, slipped into the canal and was swept away by the strong water current. Another student Anubhav, who hailed from Rajasthan, jumped into the canal to save his friend but he too was swept away, he said.
According to police, rescue operations were launched by the administration after the incident was reported. The divers recovered the bodies of both students from downstream of the canal Wednesday morning.
SHO said the bodies were sent for postmortem after the family members of the deceased arrived here.
NIT's Public Relations Officer, Prof Vikas Mittal said some students had gone to the canal in the evening, during which the incident happened.
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Meta under fire for approving politically motivated ads during Lok Sabha elections
New Delhi: During the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, faces criticism for approving politically motivated advertisements containing hate speech and disinformation. According to a recent report, Meta approved several ads manipulated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), spreading disinformation and targeting specific demographics.
The report reveals that despite rejecting some ads, including one targeting Prime Minister Modi for misinformation, Meta approved others that targeted Muslims, violating its own policies on hate speech, bullying, harassment, misinformation, and violence incitement. These approved ads contained slurs against Muslims and Hindu supremacist language, further exacerbating tensions.
India Civil Watch International (ICWI) and Ekō, an accountability organization, submitted 22 ads to Meta, of which 14 were approved, highlighting the platform's failure to detect harmful content. Although Meta stated it requires advertisers to disclose their use of AI, critics argue that the platform lacks effective measures to address hate speech and disinformation.
Meta's history of failing to curb Islamophobia on its platforms adds to the skepticism regarding its ability to regulate harmful content during critical events like elections. With concerns over the proliferation of hate speech and disinformation online, questions arise about Meta's responsibility in safeguarding its users and ensuring a fair electoral process.
