Is Facebook simply a bystander in global politics or is it actively meddling in politics? Thanks to a report by the Wall Street Journal that was published on 14 August, there are some serious questions about Facebook’s “impartiality” when it comes to hate speeches by BJP members.

The report alleges that Ankhi Das, Facebook’s top public policy executive in India, opposed to applying hate speech community standards to BJP leaders T Raja Singh, Anantkumar Hegde, and Kapil Mishra — all notorious for promoting violence and delivering hate speeches. This, allegedly out of fear of ruining the company’s relationship with the ruling party and hampering its business prospects in the country.

The allegations of "selective enforcement" of rules have come from even current and former Facebook employees who in the report said that "Ms. Das’s intervention on behalf of T Raja Singh is part of a broader pattern of favoritism by Facebook toward Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu hard-liners."

Do the internal assessments and content reviews done by the company hold any credibility? Does Facebook stand to threaten India’s democracy?

References:

Facebook’s Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics How Facebook’s Political Unit Enables the Dark Art of Digital Propaganda

Producer and Host: Shorbori Purkayastha

Guests:

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Journalist and co-author of "The Real Face of Facebook in India"

Srinivas Kodaili, Independent researcher working on data and governance

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