Centre clarifies why it asked Twitter, Facebook to remove posts

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said on Sunday that it asked social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to remove over 100 posts and accounts alleging they were "inflammatory".

Twitter already removed 50 tweets, while Facebook and Instagram are in the process to remove, sources in the Ministry said.

The Ministry issued orders as per Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act.

Read | Twitter removes 50 tweets criticising Modi government's handling of Covid-19 crisis

However, critics alleged that the government asked social media platforms to remove posts critical of the Modi government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tweets by Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, Congress MP Revanth Reddy and West Bengal Minister Moly Ghatak were removed.

The government claimed that posts, which were asked to be taken down were "inflammatory," spread fake information about the pandemic by using unrelated/old/out of context images/ visuals, misinformation about Covid protocols.

The Ministry alleged that the posts in question showed photos of cremations of dead bodies which were incendiary, had inflammatory messages that could incite the public and lead to assaults on healthcare personnel, sources told DH.