Social network <keyword id="6354616" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter" source="Orion">Twitter</keyword> was asked by the government to block multiple accounts and some tweets from advocacy group Freedom House, journalists, politicians, and supporters of farmers' protest last year, according to a document filed by the platform on June 26. The requests from the government were sent between January 5, 2021, and December 29, 2021, according to the document filed with Lumen database. Leading internet companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter file information with Lumen database about weblinks or accounts that they have been asked to block by any entity under applicable laws. However, details about whether the request to block a link or account was fulfilled are not available on the database. According to the document filed by Twitter, the social network was asked by the government to block tweets of international advocacy group Freedom House which conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights including freedom of speech and expression on the internet across the world. An e-mail query sent to the Ministry of Electronics and IT did not elicit any reply. According to the document, the government had asked Twitter to block a few tweets from Freedom House which talked about the state of internet freedom in 2020 and noted its sharp decline in India. The document showed that the government requested to block tweets belonging to members of India National Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, including MLA Jarnail Singh. The government had also requested Twitter to block the account of <keyword id="10458289" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="kisan-ekta-morcha" source="Orion">Kisan Ekta Morcha</keyword>. A random check showed that most of the tweets and <keyword id="841581" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="twitter-accounts" source="Orion">Twitter accounts</keyword> that were requested to be blocked were accessable to users. In a statement released on Monday, the umbrella body of farmers' unions, <keyword id="10302911" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="samyukta-kisan-morcha" source="Orion">Samyukta Kisan Morcha</keyword> (SKM), raised strong objections to the requests made by the government for blocking tweets of those who stood in its support. "Samyukta Kisan Morcha strongly opposes and condemns the withholding Twitter accounts allied with the farm movement on the instructions of the Union Government. Twitter has withheld about a dozen Twitter accounts in India, including the Twitter handle @kisanektamorcha allied with the Farm Movement, without any warning," SKM said. International group Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the government's move to block tweets of journalists-- <keyword id="2416745" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rana-ayyub" source="Orion">Rana Ayyub</keyword> and CJ Werleman. "Twitter complying with the Indian government's directive to withhold journalist @RanaAyyub's tweet and block columnist @cjwerleman's account in India are part of an unacceptable new trend of censorship on social media. This must stop! Journalists' voices are essential for a democracy," CPJ Asia tweeted. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indian-power-crisis-is-far-from-over-as-global-coal-prices-surge/articleshow/92507152.cms">Indian power crisis is far from over as global coal prices surge</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/200-indian-companies-register-for-extended-producer-responsibility-for-plastic-packaging/articleshow/92507014.cms">200 Indian companies register for extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging</a>

Govt asked Twitter to block advocacy groups, journalists, and farm protest supporters

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Deepfakes are made using AI to swap the likeness of one person in an image with another.</li><li>QTCinderella was among Twitch streamers who had deepfake porn of them shared online recently.</li></ul>Twitch gamer Atrioc paying for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/what-is-deepfake">deepfake</a> pornography of women streamers has reignited the debate around their potential harm.Atrioc, real name Brandon Ewing, was live streaming on January 30 when viewers saw an open tab on his browser for a deepfake website, featuring images created using artificial intelligence to make it appear like people were engaging in sexual acts, according to entertainment news website <a href="https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/twitch-streamer-atrioc-gives-tearful-apology-after-paying-for-deepfakes-of-female-streamers-2047162/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dexerto</a>.One user screenshoted the stream and shared it on Reddit. The widely viewed post featured the address of the deepfake site, meaning that the images and names of women deepfaked were seen by many. The thread has since been locked my moderators.One of the victims of the deepfake website visited by Ewing was fellow gamer, QTCinderella.QTCinderella tweeted the day after the screenshot was shared: "The amount of body dysmorphia I've experienced since seeing those photos has ruined me. "It's not as simple as 'just' being violated. It's so much more than that."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—QTCinderella (@qtcinderella) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1620264657926885380">January 31, 2023</a></blockquote>Ewing later <a href="https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1ss80dv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apologized</a> for viewing the content, saying in a livestream that he clicked an advert on <a href="https://www.insider.com/most-searched-sex-positions-pornhub-2022-how-to-do-2022-12">Pornhub</a> for the deepfake website due to "morbid curiosity." He later announced he would stop making content, and said that QTCinderella told him his actions had created a "wildfire" of deepfake pornography.He said he wanted to "combat the damage," and was engaging with law firms in order to remove the content from the internet. <h2>Most deepfakes are non-consensual porn featuring women</h2>Since deepfakes started appearing online in 2015, they have become more convincing year on year, growing in quality and quantity, Matthew B. Kugler, a professor of law at Northwestern who researches them, told Insider.Experts fear that deepfakes can be used to spread misinformation, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-is-educating-its-citizens-to-recognize-russian-deepfakes-2023-1?_gl=1*x8ewdm*_ga*MTYwMTE5NTY1Ny4xNjUwODk4NDc4*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTY3NjAzMjczOC41NzUuMS4xNjc2MDM0ODA3LjAuMC4w">for example for political gain</a>, but evidence suggests that women in particular have been victimized.Research by Sensity AI, a company that monitors deepfakes, found in 2018 that 90% to 95% of deepfakes were non-consensual <a style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.insider.com/guides/health/mental-health/porn-addiction">porn</a>, which can be traumatic for the victim, said Kuglar. 90% of that was non-consensual porn of women. A 2019 report from DeepTrace, a technology research company, found that 99% of pornographic deepfakes featured female celebrities.<a href="https://regmedia.co.uk/2019/10/08/deepfake_report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In the report, </a>Danielle Citron, professor of law at Boston University, said: "Deepfake sex videos say to individuals that their bodies are not their own and can make it difficult to stay online, get or keep a job, and feel safe."Kugler chimed that pornographic deepfakes threaten the victim's sense of self-control, self-presentation, and self-ownership. The results can be disorienting for anyone having <a href="https://www.insider.com/tiktok-curt-skelton-ai-zahra-hussain-viral-deepfake-joke-2022-9">AI</a> content created about them, even consensually. This includes users generating images on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lensa-app-review-turn-selfies-digital-art-ai-technology-photos-2022-12">Lensa AI</a>, an app that creates avatars from a photo of a person, he said."With deepfakes, you could make me do anything. You could make me do things that are illegal, you can make me do things that are depraved. I might actually prefer to be featured in the real stuff," he said.<h2>Victims of deepfake porn can be left feeling scarred and betrayed</h2>Psychotherapist Lisa Sanfilippo, whose expertise includes sexual trauma, told Insider that creating false pornographic images "is a major violation."She said that for the victim "seeing images of yourself — or images that are falsified to look like you, in acts that you might find reprehensible, scary or that would be only for your personal life can be very destabilizing — even traumatizing. There is no ability to give consent there.""It's abuse when someone takes something from another person that has not been freely given to them," she said.The effect on the victim depends on the person, Sanfilippo, but it can leave them feeling scared, scarred, and betrayed.There is also a threat to safety for victims of <a href="https://www.insider.com/deepfakes-explained-the-rise-of-fake-realistic-videos-online-2019-6">deepfake</a> porn. Journalist Rana Ayyub wrote in <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/deepfake-porn_uk_5bf2c126e4b0f32bd58ba316" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HuffPost</a> that in 2018 she fell victim to deepfake porn while investigating corruption within the Indian government.The deepfakes went viral, which led to harassment and threats. In the article she said: "From the day the video was published, I have not been the same person."Kugler is now advocating for a change in law when it comes to non-consensual deepfakes, with deepfakes not technically being illegal in the US.In the UK, an amendment to the Online Safety Bill will mean that creating, viewing or sending deepfake porn will be illegal and could be punishable by two years in prison. The bill is set to come into effect this year.Back in the US, Kugler said: "Will laws be passed prohibiting any of this? I tend to think yes."

A Twitch streamer was caught watching deepfake porn of women gamers. Sexual images made without consent can be traumatic and abusive, experts say — and women are the biggest victims.

<ul><li>The 82-year old <keyword id="1638915" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bilkis">Bilkis</keyword> is now one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world.</li><li>She was one among the many women who would walk from their houses in the nearby localities and sit in protest all day into the night at <keyword id="203535" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shaheen-Bagh">Shaheen Bagh</keyword>.</li><li>Protestors had gathered at India’s national capital’s Shaheed Bagh to raise their voice against the Indian government’s Citizenship Amendment Act. </li></ul>For days at end, protestors gathered at India’s national capital’s Shaheed Bagh to raise their voice against the Indian government’s Citizenship Amendment Act. But it was the ‘dadis of Shaheen Bagh’ who made the most noise, just with their unflinching loyalty for the protest. And one of them – 82-year old Bilkis — is now one of Time's <a href="https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888255/bilkis/">100 most influential people</a> in the world. Bilkis became one of the prominent faces of the protest for her sheer resistance despite her age. She was one among the many women who would walk from their houses in the nearby localities and sit in protest all day into the night at Shaheen Bagh. “Bilkis deserves recognition so the world acknowledges the power of resistance against tyranny”, says the Time's piece by journalist Rana Ayyub. In a <a href="https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/the-old-guard-meet-the-elderly-protesters-of-zakir-nagar-and-shaheen-bagh-11578659942897.html">Mint</a> report, Bilkis said that she was fighting for the idea of a plural India, against all odds. The protests at Shaheen Bagh hit pause only as the rising number of coronavirus cases in India posed a threat to the people protesting at the site and was followed by the country-wide lockdown. The Indian government had passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill in December 2019, which had led to a series of protests across the country. The controversial act meant to give Indian citizenship to illegal migrants of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religions, however Muslims were not included in the list. In February 2020, India’s national capital Delhi was smeared with blood as riots broke out in various parts. Bilkis might be just another face in the protest, but for thousands, she became the story of grit and determination and the soul of Shaheen Bagh protests. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/sundar-pichai-gets-a-spot-in-times-2020-influential-list-and-generous-praise-from-jamie-dimon/articleshow/78268010.cms">Sundar Pichai gets a spot in Time's 2020 'influential' list and generous praise from Jamie Dimon</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-reliance-retail-gets-its-second-investment-in-two-weeks-kkr-invests-5550-crore/articleshow/78267281.cms">Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail gets its second investment in two weeks – KKR invests ₹5,550 crore</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/facebook-india-head-goes-to-supreme-court-against-delhi-assembly-panels-summons-on-hate-speech/articleshow/78267998.cms">Facebook India Head goes to Supreme Court against Delhi Assembly Panel's summons on 'hate speech'</a>

Bilkis – the ‘dadi from Shaheen Bagh’ is now one of the world’s most influential people

<ul><li>‘<keyword id="13945161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shadowbanning" source="Orion">Shadowbanning</keyword>’ or ‘ghost banning’ is the act when <keyword id="6354632" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-media" source="Orion">social media</keyword> posts are taken down, muted or hidden from followers without informing the user or creator.</li><li>A user could continue posting, but their posts won’t be visible to the rest of the community.</li><li>While <keyword id="1020663" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-media-platforms" source="Orion">social media platforms</keyword> have denied that shadowbanning exists, many <keyword id="2893283" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="content-creators" source="Orion">content creators</keyword> and internet users believe otherwise.</li><li>In the last few years, many shadowbanning trackers have also cropped up on the internet.</li><li>Here’s all you need to know about shadowbanning.</li></ul>Shortly before Tesla’s CEO <keyword id="6355315" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon-musk" source="Orion">Elon Musk</keyword> announced his intentions to buy social media platform Twitter, he made a ‘joke’ about Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gate gaining weight. Immediately after, he tweeted again to say, “<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1517716718382166016?s=20&amp;t=zq4YSc9IXneApnGilXPtHg">Shadow ban council reviewing tweet,” with an image of six hooded people </a>who seem to be discussing something fishy. <div type="twitter" handle="elonmusk" handlename="Elon Musk" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1521957986335297536/itVSA7l0_normal.jpg" favoritecount="645420" retweetcount="45160" status="shadow ban council reviewing tweet … https://t.co/cawjtwc7CW" createdat="1650686838000" id="1517716718382166016"></div> This conversation around <keyword id="13945237" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shadowban" source="Orion">shadowban</keyword> isn’t new. It comes and goes in phases. Now, more Indian content creators are experiencing shadowbanning and it’s becoming a widespread concern among internet users. <div type="image" title="shadowbanning.2" msid="91589972" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;How has &amp;#39;shadowbanning&amp;#39;, as a search term, seen growth in the last five years across the world&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Recently, Indian independent journalist Rana Ayyub claimed to have been shadowbanned on social media platform Instagram for speaking up for Palestinian citizens. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccda_o8ptah/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=c6659d3b-ccbe-4721-9776-8ff25a1a8f3e">Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid</a> also called out Instagram for suppressing her voice, limiting her reach and <a href="https://images.dawn.com/news/1189941/if-you-want-me-to-stop-talking-they-should-stop-killing-bella-hadid-on-instagrams-palestine-censorship">deactivating</a> the 'share' button on her 'Save Palestinian Citizens' post. She termed it a ‘breach of human rights’ and "the biggest form of bias and unjust censorship". <a href="https://time.com/5863350/tiktok-black-creators/">TikTok was also called out</a> by quite a few content creators for shadowbanning their posts on Black Lives Matter. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is shadowbanning and how it has evolved on the internet" text="What is shadowbanning and how it has evolved on the internet">What is shadowbanning and how it has evolved on the internet</cmsannotation> A number of content creators Business Insider India spoke to defined ‘shadowbanning’ or ‘ghost banning’ as social media posts being taken down, muted or hidden from followers without informing the user or creator. It is generally understood to be secret censorship of a person, community or a topic on social media. It quietly silences opinions. As per media reports, the word ‘shadowban’ appeared in the early 2000s. It was a moderation technique, used to keep a check on bots, trolls, shitposters or anyone else they deemed harmful. Shadowbanning isn’t just a social media lingo. It even <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3q744/where-did-shadow-banning-come-from-trump-republicans-shadowbanned">existed in the</a> 80s, wherein bulletin board systems (BBS), a computer server-running software used to exchange information, would limit ‘twit bit.’ Someone who would exhibit immature behavior, was flagged as a ‘twit’ and was granted limited access. After they were flagged, only the twit and the admin could see their messages on the board. As the internet became a primary mode of communication, content moderation and social media algorithms became much more complicated and lines started blurring. Today, people use the term shadowbanning quite often. Some content creators blame the streak of their low-performing content pieces or dip in reach on shadowbanning. “No matter how exciting the word shadow banning sounds, the fact is that intricately means banning the voice of somebody completely. The word banned is binary in nature, it's a zero or a one, there is no spectrum here. So that means you will literally get no one else to see your content,” clarifies Preetham Venkky, Chief Digital Officer of advertising agency DDB Mudra Group and President at digital marketing agency 22feet Tribal Worldwide. As per a few media <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/08/01/what-is-shadowbanning">reports</a>, when shadowbanned, users can continue to post messages, add new followers and comment or reply to other posts. But their messages may not appear in the feed, their <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/instagram-shadow-banning-is-real_n_5e555175c5b63b9c9ce434b0">replies may be suppressed </a>and they may not show up in searches under their usernames. An economist report also said that a major and <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/instagram-shadow-banning-is-real_n_5e555175c5b63b9c9ce434b0">sudden drop </a>in likes or retweets is also a form of shadowban, wherein the user is restricted to reach out to new people. Their posts are only visible to them and their followers. Body positivity content creator Prableen Kaur has seen a few creators and users being shadowbanned. She defines it as, “There's a certain topic that you're talking about, and maybe the platform doesn't want anyone to talk more about it, then they will decrease the amount of reach you will get on a particular post and that is shadowbanning for me. So for example, if there's something being spoken around bullying, then Instagram will shadowban that kind of user and try to not make it reach more people so that people are not influenced in the wrong way.” <div type="image" title="Prableen Kaur" msid="91590246" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Digital creator Prableen Kaur shares what is shadowbanning&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Un-webbing shadowban: a timeline" text="Un-webbing shadowban: a timeline">Un-webbing shadowban: a timeline</cmsannotation> In 2019, Instagram had apologised for shadowbanning <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/instagram-apologizes-to-pole-dancers-after-hiding-their-posts-1.4537820">pole dancers</a> and <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/7xg5dd/instagram-apologizes-for-blocking-caribbean-carnival-content">attendees of a Caribbean carnival</a>. Posts with hashtags #PoleFitness and #StLuciaCarnival were removed from the explore tab completely but the platform said it was an error. “We apologise for the mistake,” a spokesperson said in both these cases. “It is never our intention to silence members of our community,” said the platform spokesperson. In India, Facebook and Instagram ‘<a href="https://thewire.in/tech/facebook-and-instagram-mistakenly-blocked-sikh-for-almost-three-months">mistakenly blocked</a>’ #Sikh for almost three months in 2020. A similar apology was released after it caught international attention. An Instagram spokesperson said its ‘processes fell down and it was never their intention to silence members of this community.’ <div type="twitter" handle="InstagramComms" handlename="Instagram Comms" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1305901852190482434/nVjrSoGe_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2052" retweetcount="840" status="We have unblocked the hashtag #sikh on Instagram and are working to unblock #sikh on Facebook. We're investigating… https://t.co/ugrb7PEKtf" createdat="1591206223000" id="1268236937246019589"></div> It did not seem like a coincidence. It was around the anniversary of <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/operation-bluestar-s-37th-anniversary-today-tight-security-in-amritsar-101622936709706.html#:~:text=events%20of%201984.-,Operation%20Bluestar%20was%20a%20military%20action%20ordered%20by%20then%20PM,and%20left%20the%20shrine%20damaged.">Operation Blue Star</a>, which was a military action ordered by former PM Indira Gandhi to flush out Sikh militants holed up in Harmandir Sahib Complex. Posts associated with #Sikh went up as the community raised its voice to mark the injustices of 1984; but were never heard. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Is shadowban real?" text="Is shadowban real?">Is shadowban real?</cmsannotation> It isn’t just Instagram. All <a href="https://twitter.com/jackielerm/status/1231122961379340289">platforms </a><a href="https://www.papermag.com/tiktok-lgbtq-shadow-banning-2647646779.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3">deny </a>that shadowbanning is real. However, many users believe it is. There are more than 98.4k hashtags #shadowbanned and 55.7k posts with #shadowban on Instagram as of May 12, 2022. There are over 30 combinations around the hashtag shadowbanned on Instagram, each with at least 100 posts. While it is hard to confirm shadowbanning’s existence, there’s some evidence. In the last few years, many shadowbanning trackers have cropped up on the internet. Websites like HeistSocial.com, Tribber.com, shadowban.eu, <a href="https://shadowban.yuzurisa.com/">shadowban.yuzurisa.com</a>, to mention a few, allow users to determine if they are shadowbanned on different social media platforms. Travel, fashion and lifestyle content creator Avantika Mohan took this test three months ago and confirmed that she was shadowbanned. “A lot of people say that shadowban is just in your head and it is just low-engagement. But when I was shadowbanned, people were unable to see my posts. I even did a poll on Instagram to find out if they could see it. They mentioned that they were unable to see my posts.” <div type="image" title="Avantika Mohan" msid="91590098" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Avantika Mohan talks to Business Insider India about her experience of being shadowbanned&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> While Mohan said she didn’t see a pattern in this ghost ban, body positive content creator Neelakshi Singh, spotted a trend in how it works. “Creators who’ve called out racism or other marginalised communities like the black community or Asian community were refrained from posting about an issue -- I feel that somewhere that is buried in. Any issues or anything that doesn't fulfill the property or satisfy the mainstream, I feel that goes on to a shadowban.” On the other hand, digital content creator Shivani Kapila believes that it is just a perception. “It's very convenient for a creator like me to say that it [content] is shadowbanned rather than coming up with different content ideas and brainstorming further. It is maybe because my crowd is exhausted of seeing what I've been showing for about six months.” When a social media user is banned permanently from the platform, they receive an official email or a notification before, whereas, when a user is shadowbanned, they are kept in the dark. Their hashtags don’t seem to work -- posts fail to appear on the ‘explore’ tab when clicked on the hashtag. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Is there a way to dodge shadowban and play safe?" text="Is there a way to dodge shadowban and play safe?">Is there a way to dodge shadowban and play safe?</cmsannotation> Instagram appears to have shadowbanned hashtags such as #hotweather, #asiangirls, #alone, #brain, #bikinibody, to mention a few. On the other hand, Business Insider India found out that #gunviolence has more than 182k posts as of May 13, 2022. <div type="image" title="Hashtags banned" msid="91590125" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Hashtags that are banned on Instagram&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> A few users and content creators have found a way to dodge this hashtag ban. “To circumvent the issue of certain words or phrases being flagged, ‘Algospeak’ is fast becoming a commonly used practice among the netizens, where alternatives are found in rhyming words, abbreviations, pop-culture references, emojis and more such creative means. When a platform won’t allow using the hashtag sexual assault to discuss the issue, it becomes #SA. A vibrator isn’t an appropriate lingo for social media, so an eggplant emoji is used; the internet is littered with such examples,” Shivani Kamdar, associate creative director at digital agency SoCheers tells Business Insider India. Rashid Ahmed, head of digital at marketing agency Infectious Advertising, also shared a few words that can get you banned on Instagram. "Body shaming terms (like fat and ugly), negative adjectives or phrases (like sad and selfish or spewing crazy) and known to be factually incorrect statements, can be cause for a user’s post to be shadowbanned. Repeated inappropriate content identifications could lead to a user being barred from posting for a specific period. Unwittingly used tags like #Snap, #pushups, #single, #brain or even #alone, could result in suppression or being shadowbanned." Ahmed suggested that creators can avoid being shadowbanned by "being mindful of the type of content they create, by using appropriately ‘safe’ language, and delivering to their audiences’ interests and tastes." <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Lack of transparency around updated algorithm is eroding user trust" text="Lack of transparency around updated algorithm is eroding user trust">Lack of transparency around updated algorithm is eroding user trust</cmsannotation> While we all know that Instagram bans certain hashtags time and again to moderate its content and its algorithm keeps changing, many say that its lack of transparency is the most frustrating part. By not informing users what is deemed appropriate by the platform and how to adjust their content as per Instagram’s liking, user trust is affected and it also comes across as discriminatory. Founder and CEO of influencer marketing platform Wobb, Ishan Jindal, says, “If shadow banning is a thing, then it is a drawback at the end of the social media platforms and their flawed policies that practice censorship of voices. In terms of the content creator industry, such a phenomenon would highly restrict a creator’s individualism and unconventional tendencies.” Telling us how it can affect a creator, he adds, “Any type of censorship of the content with the idea of suppressing voices can severely damage the trust between social media platforms and their users. Such a phenomenon also affects public figures, creators and their relationships with the audience.” With their algorithm, social media platforms have the power to decide what the mainstream audience sees on the explore tab. Telling us how algorithms work, Kamdar says, “If a topic or conversation is deemed “inappropriate” by a platform’s algorithm, no matter how significant it is for the individual or the community, the content around it won’t reach its desired audience, thus affecting the creator’s discoverability to an extent. It won’t matter how painstakingly the content is created, or how significant a role it could play, its reach will be limited.” In case of the shadowban on #sikh before Operation Blue Star anniversary, an entire community was stopped from talking about a painful historic event. Similarly, TikTok had restricted #BlackLivesMatter’s reach. While social media platforms have denied the allegations, they have also released apologies for blocking these hashtags, when there was a social movement rising simultaneously in real life. This could lead to lack of trust among many users and content creators. To turn this around, Neelakshi says that platforms need to be more transparent so that creators can work their way around the algorithm and hashtags that are banned. “As a female user, I would want to have more control in terms of what I'm able to create or what I am able to speak about.” It is important for the platforms now to address the ‘ghost’ in the room and bring it out of the shadows. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="91578141" title="Elon Musk called Twitter newsfeed algorithms 'manipulative,' prompting a reply from founder Jack Dorsey, who disagreed with the claim" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

Social media platforms deny but content creators and tracking websites confirm that shadowbanning or silent censorship is real

<ul><li>Tejashwi Yadav clocked over 1.24 million engagements in October overshadowing incumbent Bihar CM Nitish Kumar who managed only 133,879 engagements. </li><li>The IPL was the flavour of the season for cricketers where expectedly India captain and expectant father Virat Kohli topped Twitter engagement with 2.4 million engagements. </li></ul>Twitteet, a social media analytics firm released its October analytics report today. This is the first time social media analytics for Twitter engagement by 20 categories have been done on a daily and monthly basis. The categories whose Twitter engagement have been analysed include Politicians (party-wise), Journalists, Business Leaders Founders &amp; Investors), Sportspersons (cricket and other sports), Movies stars (Bollywood and regional), Authors, Chefs, and Comedians. Here are the winners from some key categories: <ol><li>Politicians – Narendra Modi - 72,15,913 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Bollywood – Sonu Sood - 24,36,601 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Business Head – Anand Mahindra - 4,08,882 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Cricketer – Virat Kohli - 24,65,918 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Sports Star (non-cricket) – Vijender Singh - 4,27,006 Twitter Engagements</li><li>TV Star – Sidharth Shukla - 3,90,901 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Journalist – Deepak Chaurasia - 18,88,720 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Founders – Kunal Shah - 60,093 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Comedians – Kunal Kamra - 11,46,111 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Regional Cinema Star – Mahesh Babu - 7,32,964 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Authors – Anand Ranganathan - 5,36,874 Twitter Engagements</li><li>Investor – Mohandas Pai - 99,741 Twitter Engagements</li></ol>Key highlights of the first report include the remarkable rise of Tejashwi Yadav who clocked over a 1.24 million engagements in October overshadowing incumbent Bihar CM Nitish Kumar who managed only 133,879 engagements. Expectedly, Prime Minster Narendra Modi topped the overall Indian Twitter engagement rankings with over 7.2 million engagements. Among Indian Politicians Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is at #2 with 3.5 million engagements, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were 3rd and 4th in the Indian Politicians engagement rankings. Surprising inclusions in the top 10 among politicians were BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra at #8 who clocked a 1.1 million engagements; Dr Kumar Vishwas at #5 who got 1.2 million engagements. <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--4bBoeS6xRgzPwSetKRg4_GcVVeCipuiqQTx6qYYAwJe54LOscBduXGjVcjk7PE9ZBZk0bEtO1C8DV7ScGYv86ILCTSCmkiemNV7vXrbJMSRbCxatBgX9MtC0SGNjcKftJD_tZv" /> Sonu Sood’s humanitarian work during the pandemic saw huge resonance on Twitter where even at a Twitter following of a tenth of super star Shah Rukh Khan (Sonu Sood’s 4.6 million followers to SRK’s 41.3 million followers) he topped Twitter engagement among Bollywood Stars with a phenomenal 2.4 million engagements. The Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan was at #2 with 7.3 lakh engagements. Akshay Kumar with 6.72 lakh engagements was at #3, and Anupam Kher with 4.74 lakh engagements was at #4. Former Maharashtra CM, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh’s actor-son Riteish Deshmukh was at #5 with 4.2 lakh engagements. Pooja Hegde was the surprise entrant into the top 10 with 2.51 lakh engagements. <img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/dCaMPvrYpVR8tRz4LnpJJTjyK7o_xPARQj0vhrjkvZzmuhpZ1U9wrmeMT_e_r0gxqSyQYUGD_SiIEk_78StT57ExlJMqaUeoeIqi9mjLAK80CXjtzsE1WnP4Z_uhksRc2VHvplTo" /> In the Business Leaders category, Anand Mahindra towers over others with over 4 lakh engagements. RPG Group’s Chief Harsh Goenka is at #2 with 2.2 lakh engagements. Chinese mobile phone brands India CEO’s Manu Kumar Jain of XiaoMi and RealMe’s Madhav Sheth are at #3 and #4 respectively with 1.5 lakh and 1.1 lakh engagements respectively. Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji with 49K engagements is at #5, Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw with 41K engagements at #6, Marico’s Harsh Mariwala with 24K engagements is at #7, Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma with 19K engagements at #8 and Chairman of JSPL and former MP, Naveen Jindal with 16K engagements is at #9. Google’s Global CEO Sundar Pichai with 15K engagements is at #10. <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tHID02ApdeLWDC4PZvTlVGp0GM6ohZnYjVDV1R1_Thy0-KAABOgKcFbJW6_p_CAbaxyTx6WVfdifSL5mqCqiDJKDLoXA6VdG2oCf6tTX0zQw-TmcfMEuV8mWrcFXaROeQG4ebH1L" /> The IPL was the flavour of the season for cricketers where expectedly India captain and expectant father Virat Kohli topped Twitter engagement with 2.4 million engagements. Suresh Raina was at #2 with 1.9 million engagements. Former stars Sachin Tendulkar at #3, Harbhajan Singh at #5, and Virendra Sehwag at #6, actively engage with fans and followers on Twitter with 1.5 million; 6.8 lakh and 6.3 lakh engagements. Aakash Chopra, now a commentator is also hugely popular and ranks #4 with over 9.65 lakh engagements on Twitter in October. Perennial favourite Mahendra Singh Dhoni was completely inactive on Twitter in October despite more than 8.1 million followers. <img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/xEGkvOBwHU5b_Gqk1UJ3QiXG9HiCH11AN4Z0D9XpGgb73AleecPVEsxk5wIoTl0oJiF0y_eEnUP5l3WS9LQ5dNiypevkMblPG0kCvJYKMS565xsIoJFxSKYEKptpLYxO5ofd6NmYONwHAW8IYA" /> Among Indian sports persons, outside of cricket, Olympic medallist and pro-boxer Vijendra Singh tops with 4.27 lakh engagements. Perhaps the India’s best kept secret in sports is veteran pistol shooter, coach and sports enthusiast 88-year old Dadi Chandro Tomar, better known as ‘Shooter Dadi’ from Baghpat, UP. Since learning to shoot when she was well into her sixties she has attained national fame as an accomplished shooter having won more than 30 national championships. She was at #2 in the non-cricket sports category with a phenomenal 2.84 lakh engagements leaving superstars like Saina Nehwal, Babita Phogat and Jwala Gutta behind! In the intensively competitive Journalists category, News Nation’s Deepak Chaurasia topped Twitter engagement with a whopping 1.88 million engagements. Aaj Tak’s Rohit Sardana was at #2 with 1.1 million engagement followed by Sushant Sinha with 1.05 million engagements. Veteran journalist and India Today’s Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai was at # 8 wit6 6.6 lakh engagements and Rana Ayyub was at #6 with 7.6 lakh engagements. <img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/0e-Cd8WODCQIW_NpEtBCYhchTqE5-eFzntMz0qX9HW-8tYY0t_HVQyXQm84UMm7ktlN2rsFqt0rupcBBDfMOjtTVCyOuBceZHNWXl4WHqbNWEwRirsGEd9Dyi2jtPIG47sq1OkV9" /> In other categories, Comedians and Start-up founders made their mark. Among comedians, Kunal Kamra topped impressively with 1.1 million engagements, followed by Ashish Chanchlani at #2 with 4.92 lakh engagements, Vir Das at #3 with 3.2 lakh engagements, Atul Khatri at #4 with 2.21 lakh engagements and Amit Bhadana with 1.1 lakh engagements at #5. Cred Founder Kunal Shah lead the Business Founders category with 60K engagements and Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma was next with 23K engagements. Said Twitteet co-founder Sandeep Amar: “Our core objective is to provide social business intelligence, social monitoring and actionable insights to the leaders across various domains and also to businesses and marketers. We run daily analysis of all engagements – which are the total of likes and retweets, collate these every month, across categories; and then slice and dice them to mine actionable insights. At some level a leaders Twitter engagement gives one sense of his connect with his constituents and what are the key issues that matter. We hope to sharpen this data over time and broad base our offerings to other social platforms and geographies.”

Narendra Modi, Sonu Sood and Anand Mahindra top Indian Twitter engagement in October 2020, shows report

India is replaying Trump's favorite strategy by accusing the media of fake news in Kashmir, where it cut off the internet and tried to silence journalists

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47586886.cms" />Indian Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>’s praise for her Bangladeshi counterpart <keyword id="66026" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sheikh-Hasina">Sheikh Hasina</keyword> went sour when he lauded her over fighting terrorism “despite being a woman”. 
 
Modi, while addressing Dhaka University on his two-day visit to the neighbouring nation, praised Hasina but his ‘despite being a woman’ statement raised many eyebrows. 
 
"I am happy that Bangladesh Prime Minister, despite being a woman, has declared zero tolerance for terrorism,” Modi had said. 
 
What Modi must have meant was that despite hardships faced by a woman, Hasina tackled terrorism but Twitter users took it as an insult. 
 
#Despitebeingawoman was trending on Twitter with tweeps posting pictures of Indian politicians, athletes, educationists, etc who have achieved various feats. 
 
Some people even raked up old wounds when Modi in 2012 had called Shashi Tharoor’s deceased wife Sunanda Pushkar “50 crore ki girlfriend”. 
 
Twitterati did not even spare her wife Jashodaben. 
 
Here’s how Twitter reacted to #Despitebeingawoman 
 
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
	
		<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DespiteBeingAWoman?src=hash">#DespiteBeingAWoman</a> she did not fight for her rights as his legally wedded wife nor for the respect accorded to a PM's wife in 7 RCR.
	— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) <a href="https://twitter.com/RanaAyyub/status/607782730860883968">June 8, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
	
		Woke up, showered, had breakfast, crossed the road, made it to work on time. All by myself, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DespiteBeingAWoman?src=hash">#DespiteBeingAWoman</a>.
	— Agratha Dinakaran (@Agratha) <a href="https://twitter.com/Agratha/status/607782160209047552">June 8, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
	
		How can you even say or think <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/despitebeingawoman?src=hash">#despitebeingawoman</a> when your own country had a great female PM way before most first world countries! Shame!
	— Amena (@Fashionopolis) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fashionopolis/status/607765373463621635">June 8, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
	
		"<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DespiteBeingAWoman?src=hash">#DespiteBeingAWoman</a>" <a href="http://t.co/JtGVFL58jD">pic.twitter.com/JtGVFL58jD</a>
	— Brumby(No MSG Found) (@brownbrumby) <a href="https://twitter.com/brownbrumby/status/607757471340335105">June 8, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
	
		Despite being a woman, Jashodaben is going from authority to authority not getting an answer to her queries. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DespiteBeingAWoman?src=hash">#DespiteBeingAWoman</a>
	— कनिका गहलौत (@kanikagahlaut) <a href="https://twitter.com/kanikagahlaut/status/607758076813307904">June 8, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>(Image: PIB)

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