New Delhi: Ahead of the upcoming Delhi assembly elections on 8 February, Twitter India found itself in the middle of a controversy after its official handle tweeted a campaign video of BJP Delhi president Manoj Tiwari.
Twitter India shared the video with a hashtag — #ManojTiwarikiChaupal. In the video, Tiwari was shown attacking the Aam Aadmi Party and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on a range of issues, including air pollution and spending on advertisements.
#ManojTiwarikiChaupal happening now!? https://t.co/u3AN3x5OgB
— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) January 26, 2020
The post by Twitter, which had in October 2019 announced a ban on political advertisements, received a lot of flak, with multiple users accusing the micro-blogging site of taking sides in the Delhi elections.
in case you didn't know already: @TwitterIndia works for the BJP https://t.co/imYZZm5Gfo
— Nikhil Pahwa (@nixxin) January 26, 2020
Too many people frothing on @jack today, for no reason!
GUYS – he said it clearly that @twitter is stopping all POLITICAL ADVERTISING…he didn't say that the platform wouldn't endorse any candidate or party.
At least now we know where @TwitterIndia officially stands!? pic.twitter.com/6W36mQJd9j
— Akash Banerjee (@TheDeshBhakt) January 26, 2020
Please don't troll @TwitterIndia for this. At least now we know Manoj Tiwari is BJP's de-facto CM candidate. https://t.co/WPbCSDb4ZQ
— Aditya Menon (@AdityaMenon22) January 26, 2020
After intense criticism, Twitter India clarified in a post that the idea of chaupals was introduced by the microblogging site in January 2019, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, and it aimed to encourage “dialogue” between political leaders and the electorate during poll campaigns.
It shared several posts, highlighting the concept of chaupals.
“Chaupals are integral to political campaigns in India, & starting with #LokSabhaElections2019 @TwitterIndia introduced #ChaupalOnTwitter to encourage dialogue with political leaders across the spectrum, bringing physical Chaupals to Twitter,” Twitter says in its pinned post.
Chaupals are integral to political campaigns in India, & starting with #LokSabhaElections2019 @TwitterIndia introduced #ChaupalOnTwitter to encourage dialogue with political leaders across the spectrum, bringing physical Chaupals to Twitter. Have a ?https://t.co/QKyHiwkKVp
— Twitter India (@TwitterIndia) January 26, 2020
Also read: ‘Poha is the new beef’ — Twitter reacts after Vijayvargia says how he caught ‘Bangladeshis’
Concept of chaupal
Twitter India put out a statement in March 2019 on #ChaupalonTwitter, where it noted, “A chaupal or town square, is the hub of community life in villages and small towns across India. Often, under a shade-giving tree, citizens gather with their local leaders to discuss common problems and come up with solutions.”
The social media platform said these chaupals are “integral” to India’s democratic process and therefore, it was bringing the “physical chaupal to the digital world”.
“Leaders invite participation via questions on Twitter using a custom hashtag,” it added.
Last year, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president Hemant Soren among others, participated in these chaupals.
In October 2019, Twitter announced a ban on political advertisements. Sharing the decision, Twitter’s chief executive officer Jack Dorsey had posted that the platform believed “political message reach should be earned”.
We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought. Why? A few reasons…?
— jack (@jack) October 30, 2019
Also read: ‘Zomato eats Uber’ — funny memes, witty one-liners on Twitter after food majors’ deal