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HomePoliticsX’s location feature sparks row: BJP vs Congress, handles run from ‘Pakistan’...
Politics

X’s location feature sparks row: BJP vs Congress, handles run from ‘Pakistan’ & a reliability catch

X users making 'pro-Congress, anti-govt' posts based out of Pakistan, Bangladesh etc, according to the platform's location data. BJP pounces, Congress says 'manufactured outrage'.

Apoorva Mandhani
Featured image by Deepakshi Sharma | ThePrint
Featured image by Deepakshi Sharma | ThePrint
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New Delhi: Several X users making “pro-Congress” and “anti-Modi government” posts are based out of Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries, according to a new location feature on the social media platform.

The BJP claims this has exposed a “coordinated global operation to influence India’s social discourse, spread misinformation and deepen internal divisions”, adding that the new feature has laid bare an “interesting pattern” in “a large number of pro-Congress, anti-Hindu, and divisive caste-based handles”. The Congress has reacted, alleging “manufactured outrage”.

It all began when the platform’s Head of Product Nikita Bier announced the new ‘About This Account’ feature over the past weekend. Rolled out globally, it allows users to see the country or region where the account is based.

“This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square,” Bier asserted. “We plan to provide many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X. And for those in countries where speech has penalties, we’ve included privacy toggles to only show your region.”

However, the political row is overlapped by doubts about the accuracy and reliability of X’s location data, with several users pointing out discrepancies. Many accounts holders alleged to be based outside of India have reacted saying locations on X may vary when a VPN is used.

For instance, when a user claimed that comedian Kunal Kamra was based out of Singapore as per his location on the account, Kamra responded saying, “Using a VPN you idiot,” leading the user to delete her X post. Similarly, when fact-checking platform Alt News was called out for being based in the US, its founder posted that it was because of a VPN connection.

Alt News founder Mohammed Zubair meanwhile wrote that even the Adani Group might be using VPNs as its accounts were seen to be located in Germany, but connected via the India App Store. The location of these accounts has since been changed to India.

X has cautioned that the location data may not be accurate. The platform displays this warning every time a user clicks on the info icon beside the location.

Responding to BJP’s allegations, Congress leader Pawan Khera said the reasons why different social media handles appear to be located in different countries “may be technical, varied, or even innocuous”.

“These include social media handles of BJP Gujarat, Doordarshan, AajTak, ABP etc. But that is not the real issue. The real issue is that this government, enabled by a compliant section of the media, has become obsessed with manufacturing conspiracies and whipping up hysteria to keep the public distracted,” he told ThePrint.

Khera was referring to social media users posting screenshots of BJP Gujarat’s X handle being based out of Ireland. However, ThePrint could not independently verify this because the account’s current location is India.

Also Read: ‘BJP-RSS faces, corruption charges’—Congress attacks ’eminent citizens’ who accused Rahul of maligning EC

‘You are from Pakistan’

The new feature has seen online detectives crack their knuckles and locate many proverbial needles in the social media platform haystack in the past few days. 

For instance, one of the first accounts that was flagged belonged to one Diya Sharma (@DiyaSharma_10), whose bio read, ‘Chalegi jhadu udhegi dhool na rahega panja, na rahega phool (The broom will sweep, the dust will rise—neither the hand nor the lotus will remain). Anti RSS mera bharat mahan bharat mata ki jai‘. The location of the account was shown to be Pakistan, according to screenshots of the account shared by users on the social media platform.

The account has since been suspended, with a note reading, “X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules.”

Another account by the name of Dr Prisha Sargam (@PrishaSargam) initially showed, purportedly, that it was based in Pakistan, according to users’ screenshots. The account has a picture of a woman, who is apparently a doctor. The recent posts are against caste-based prejudice and Hindi imposition, especially in the South.

One of the posts has a viral video of psephologist Yogendra Yadav, with the caption: “As Indians, we must acknowledge the caste-based prejudice that still exists against SC and OBC communities. But compared to the cow-belt, the social environment and representation in South India are far healthier.”

One such post appreciating the Indian Air Force band playing a Kannada song was reposted by another user, saying, “You are from Pakistan. Sit down.” However, the account now shows it is based in South Asia.

Another account, @Tractor2twitr_P, shows Ludhiana as location on the profile, but the ‘About this account’ feature says it is based in Australasia. The account often centres its posts on Sikhism, Punjab and farmers’ concerns. It has slammed the Modi government over the farm laws multiple times, often posting in Punjabi.

Another account in focus is @heistprofessor_, often posting in Punjabi and amplifying Sikh issues. It has lately been posted about Centre’s now-revoked decision to restructure Panjab University’s governing bodies, the Senate and Syndicate. While the Ministry of Education has withdrawn its notification, students are continuing with the agitation, seeking the announcement of a schedule for the Senate elections. Amplifying their voices, the account has been posting with the hashtag—#SavePUFromCentre.

Similarly, the moment @PriaINC questioned if Ayodhya MP was not invited for the hoisting of flag at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple because he is a Dalit, X users pointed out that the account was based in South Asia connected through a ‘Europe App Store’.

Some users pointed out that the Maharashtra Congress’s official account (@INCMaharashtra) showed it was based out of Ireland. However, it also said that it is connected through the India App Store. The location has now changed to India.

‘I was hired by not just Congress but other parties’

Popular X account @HPhobiaWatch posted a screenshot of one Yashita Nagpal’s (@YashitaNag66252) profile, claiming, “Congress is hiring so many Pakistanis because they can’t find single Indians to support them even with money.” Its location shows the account is based in Pakistan.

@YashitaNag66252 responded that she was hired not just by Congress but other political parties in India as well to be a part of their campaign a few months back.

While Indians have been fretting over foreign users commenting on issues that concern India, Pakistani media has claimed that several Indian accounts were found to be impersonating Israeli and Baloch nationals, and had been posting criticism of Pakistan and its policies.

For instance, it was pointed out that former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria’s account was based out of India, while his page says that it is from Pakistan. He often posts about Indian politics and appreciation for the Indian government. 

Not just Indians and Pakistanis, Americans have also discovered that several prominent accounts propagating the ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) movement on X are actually based outside the US, according to X’s location feature.

Besides political commentary, users have also posted screenshots of honeytrap accounts operating out of Pakistan.

However, several of these accounts have since changed their location to “South Asia”, instead of displaying the country they belong to.

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‘Conspiracy against India’

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya was quick to point out an “interesting pattern” in the location data. “A large number of pro-Congress, anti-Hindu, and divisive caste-based handles are not even operating from India. Many are being run from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other parts of Asia and the world. Almost all of them have changed their usernames multiple times to mask their identity,” he wrote on X.

This “conspiracy against India”, he said, was now exposed.

BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar appreciated the new X feature, saying “one of the gravest misuse of social media platforms is State sponsored misinformation operations”.

“To defeat this is not easy and is a struggle by most democratic govts. As Minister I struggled to address this in the face of Pakistan and Chinese misinformation campaigns mounted using so-called Indian handles,” he wrote, asserting that this step by X has dented targeted misuse and fraud operations “undermining democracies”.

In response to BJP’s tirade against pro-Congress accounts allegedly based outside India, Congress’s Pawan Khera said, “It is a government that cannot solve problems and has no intention of even trying. So naturally they would prefer to keep the country busy with manufactured outrage.”

He added: “If they don’t keep people & media busy with these concocted controversies, the public will ask real questions about the urgent crises facing the country. Like the toxic, unbreathable air in cities like Delhi and Mumbai, the unforgivable rise in farmer suicides, the persistent violence against minorities, Dalit, tribal communities, the epidemic of rapes and the collapse of women’s safety, and the large-scale, irreversible plunder of our environment.”

However, it does not appear to be all black and white, with regards to accounts being called out for purportedly being based outside India.

How accurate is the location?

X has cautioned that the location data may not be accurate. Clicking on the exclamation mark beside the location information reveals a pop-up box, which reads, “The country or region that an account is based can be impacted by recent travel or temporary relocation. This data may not be accurate and can change periodically.”

Additionally, the platform gives users an option to either display their region or the country.

Several accounts initially called out for being allegedly located in Pakistan or neighbouring countries have since changed their location information to “South Asia”. 

For instance, while older screenshots of @PrishaSargam’s account show Pakistan as the account’s location, the current one displayed says it is based in South Asia. This change did not go unnoticed.

Journalist and author Vikram Chandra tagged Bier and Elon Musk in a post on X, urging them to rethink the option for people to select “continent”, instead of specific country.

“As you can see, scores of accounts that were spreading anti-Indian hate got identified as Pakistani accounts – and then quickly changed their setting to ‘South Asia’. This defeats the purpose of the whole exercise,” he wrote.

(Edited by Mannat Chugh)

Also Read: Why Bihar polls saw highest ever women voter turnout

 

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