Twitter and YouTube have been ordered by the centre to take down links of a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
People with direct knowledge of the matter have said that Tweets and YouTube videos of the documentary titled "India: The Modi Question" no longer appear on the microblogging and video-sharing websites. The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry told the two social media giants to block the first episode of the BBC documentary.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak distanced himself from the documentary series, saying he "doesn't agree with the characterisation" of his Indian counterpart in the UK's parliament by Pakistan-origin MP Imran Hussain.
The ministry told Twitter to remove over 50 tweets on the documentary by Britain's national broadcaster. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien was among some opposition leaders whose tweet on the documentary was removed by Twitter.
"Censorship. Twitter has taken down my tweet of the BBC documentary. It received lakhs of views. The one-hour BBC documentary exposes how PM hates minorities," O'Brien alleged.
Using emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules, 2021, the I&B Ministry gave the order to take down the links and both YouTube and Twitter have agreed to follow the order. The centre has also told YouTube and Twitter to take down fresh links of the documentary if some people upload or tweet them again, sources said.
Calling the documentary a "propaganda piece", India has stated that it lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.
Officials of several ministries including home and foreign, apart from I&B, have examined the documentary closely and found it to be an attempt to cast aspersions on the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court, sow divisions among communities in India and make unsubstantiated allegations on actions of foreign governments in India, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
A Supreme Court-appointed investigation had found no evidence of wrongdoing by PM Modi, who was Chief Minister of Gujarat when the riots broke out in February 2002.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.