Facebook blocks hashtag calling for PM Modi’s resignation, restores later

Facebook on Wednesday temporarily blocked posts containing the hashtag #ResignModi over violating its community standards.

Many users who used the #ResignModi in their post shared that their post had been hidden for while several users trying to post status updates, videos, or photos Facebook also received a warning prompt that said, “Posts with #ResignModi are temporarily hidden here. Some content in those posts goes against our Community Standards.”

Hey @Facebook what is this ? pic.twitter.com/reQi0QZGtq

— Dr. Srinivas MD (@srinivasaiims) April 28, 2021

Later, around 12.50pm PST, the hashtag was again accessible on Facebook.

Policy Communications Director of Facebook Andy Stone confirmed it had been restored after a brief outage that was accidental.

“We temporarily blocked this hashtag by mistake, not because the Indian government asked us to, and have since restored it,” Andy Stone tweeted.

Here's more on what happened today: We temporarily blocked this hashtag by mistake, not because the Indian government asked us to, and have since restored it.

— Andy Stone (@andymstone) April 29, 2021

The news comes just four days after the Indian government asked Facebook to take down posts that are critical and scandalous towards government’s handling policies of the Covid outbreak.

As per Indian government, it made the demands because those posts could have incite panic and hamper its efforts to fight the novel coronavirus.

Earlier in 2020, Facebook had been in controversy in India after Wall Street Journal reported that the company’s former public policy in India had allegedly not been implementing hate speech policies for politicians belonging Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party at her directive.

Reportedly, the employee, Ankhi Das, resigned after the criticism snowballed.