When then Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan presented the state’s budget for the year 2022-23, he mentioned that the state government has decided to form a special Social Media Monitoring Centre under the police department. He claimed that the Social Media Monitoring is being set up to ‘to battle fake news and misinformation on social media platforms’.
However, The Commune back then had raised concerns stating that the DMK government with the state police machinery under its control might use it to muzzle dissenting voices.
Ever since the DMK came to power, there has been a series of crackdowns on political activists, journalists and social media activists who are opposed to the DMK and Dravidian ideology.
And the latest move of the DMK government is a step further in this direction that will sound a death knell to freedom of speech and expression in Tamil Nadu.
“Fact-Checking Unit” Headed By DMK Supporting YouTuber For DMK
It has been announced that the Government of Tamil Nadu has decided to create a Fact Checking Unit under the administrative control of Special Programme Implementation which is the portfolio of DMK scion and Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. This FCU is going to be headed by Iyan Karthikeyan, a Dravidian Stockist YouTuber known for peddling DMK propaganda.
YouTurn is a self-proclaimed “fact-checking” website that also has a YouTube channel where Iyan Karthikeyan – now ex-Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder along with his team rant for the most part under the pretext of “fact-checking”. They frequently target DMK critics like Maridhas, journalists Rangaraj Pandey and Sandhya Ravishankar apart from peddling canards about the BJP and its leaders.
Their website claims that YouTurn is a legally registered organization exclusively focused on fact-checking and is certified by none other than IFCN Poynter which has links with George Soros.
Iyan Karthikeyan took to his social media on 30 October 2023 announcing his resignation from the organization.
On 31 October 2023, The News Minute’s Shabbir Ahmed shared a post on social media platform X that said, “Sources say former Youturn editor Iyan Karthikeyan is likely to head the Tamil Nadu government fact checking and hate speech monitoring unit.”
His appointment was later confirmed by Savukku Media headed by political commentator Savukku Shankar in a series of tweets.
As news of his appointment spread on social media, on 1 November 2023, Iyan Karthikeyan shared a post announcing his appointment on his X handle.
He wrote, “Addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of speech. It means keeping hate speech from escalating into something more dangerous” – UN secretary General, António Guterres. I am appointed as Mission Director for the Fact check unit under the administration of SPI, Tamilnadu. Thank you Hon. CM MK Stalin and Hon. Minister of SPI Udhay Stalin for the opportunity. Fighting against Hatred is the job of everyone!”
However, an official announcement is pending until the time of publishing this article. The news making the rounds created quite a buzz given the “credibility” of Iyan Karthikeyan and the entity, YouTurn itself.
Questionable Selection Process
The Tamil Development and Information Department had apparently issued an ordinance to oversee the formation and operation of the Fact-Checking Unit. As per a report published by Savukku Media, the unit will consist of 73 temporary positions, apart from the posts of Chief Director, Project Director, and Associate Director (Govt Statements). The selection process for these positions has raised questions about transparency and equal opportunities for all candidates. The secrecy surrounding the decree has led to doubts about the true purpose of the scheme. Questions that arise regarding the selection process include:
- In which newspaper was the advertisement calling for applications for these posts placed?
- How many applications were received?
- When did the interview happen?
- Where did it happen?
Qualifications and experience-related details for the above posts have surfaced on social media platform X. The basic qualifications are pretty confusing – the ideal candidate must have either an Engineering degree or a Master’s degree in Journalism. Critics have questioned why a fact-checker must have an engineering degree.
It has come to light that Iyan Karthikeyan is an engineering graduate. The odds of him having similar qualifications as that of those mentioned in the GO are pretty strange.
Political commentator Savukku Shankar alleges that these qualifications have been come up with to ensure Iyan fits the criteria and gets picked for the role.
He wrote a post on X that said, “DMK Supporter and YouTuber Ayan Karthikeyan is an Engineering grad. He holds a masters in Journalism. Precisely to accommodate him, TN Govt has fixed this strange qualification for Mission Director post in the upcoming Fact Check Unit which carries a pay package of 3 lakhs per month. As per the norm, even this is done without the knowledge of CM”
Why Is It A Concern?
The establishment of the FCU and the selection process seems to have completely happened in the dark without public knowledge raising allegations of favoritism.
The other obvious concern is using public money to hunt down on critics of the DMK and its government.
Annexure-III of the document regarding the functions of the Fact-Checking Unit states that “The FCU would take up complaints relating to govt, its ministries, departments, public sector entities, etc for evaluation/fact-checking. The FCU takes Suo Moto cognizance on fact-checking as well as received complaints from various sources. The received information is split into actionable pool and non-actionable pool. From the actionable pool, the Central Task Force would consult with the Advisory Team from the Government’s Legal & Police Department and forward it to the concerned authorities to initiate legal action.”
Savukku Shankar denounced this move and posted on X stating, “The powers given to the Fact Checking Unit and its Mission Director Designate Ayan Karthikeyan are draconian. Suo Motu powers are given to the Unit to flag and shut down channels, tweets and other social media posts critical DMK govt. Stalin is creating a monster which kill dissent in social media.”
The salary details of the posts have also been announced and the figures are mind-boggling. At a time when nurses and teachers are fighting for equal pay and the state is in severe debt, this announcement makes one question the intent of the government.
History Of YouTurn & Iyan Karthikeyan
The channel was started about 4 years ago and the primary goal of the website/channel was to target Hindus (specifically Brahmins), mock them, and rant. The most common punching bag turns out to be Chanakya’s Rangaraj Pandey and YouTuber Maridhas. Iyan Karthikeyan and his team made it a point to “counter” Pandey and Maridhas in pretty much all of their videos mainly because Pandey continued to keep his surname and comes from the “upper class” while Maridhas is known for putting out facts and criticising the ruling DMK government. At a glance, one can realise that the YouTube videos are not essentially fact-checks but are rants instead. They regularly abuse Brahmins and flog the dead horse that is Manusmriti.
Here Are Some Instances Where YouTurn’s “Fact-Checking” Were Debunked
Spreading half-truths about Nanganallur temple which came under the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department.
In April 2023, a tragic incident occurred at the Dharmalingeshwarar Temple in Nanganallur, Chennai, during the Theerthavari festival in the Tamil month of Panguni. Five young individuals, aged between 18 and 22, tragically drowned while participating in temple rituals. In an effort to deflect blame and evade responsibility for the Nanganallur temple mishap in which five people drowned, certain DMK leaders and alleged fact-checkers (read Iyan Karthikeyan), disseminated false information. They claimed that the temple was not under the purview of HR&CE (Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department). However, netizens swiftly provided evidence that the Nanganallur temple, the site of the tragic incident, indeed fell within the jurisdiction of HR&CE and was specifically identified on the HR&CE website with a reference ID. Recognising the inaccuracies in his initial tweet, Karthikeyan later posted a tweet asserting that the temple was privately owned. He argued that the HR&CE department’s attempts to assume control were prompted by issues with temple management.
Fake allegations on PM Vishwakarma Yojana
When the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana was announced, the channel posted a video that claimed that the scheme was promoting ancestral/clan-based or family occupation. All their claims were debunked by The Commune here.
Incorrect Understanding Of Financials
On 28 October 2023, Iyan Karthikeyan posted on X saying he would debunk TN Bharatiya Janata Party President K Annamalai’s claim that a child born in TN had a debt of ₹3.5 lakh on its head compared to an “income” of ₹17000 for a child born in Gujarat.
On his website, he posted screenshots of newspaper articles claiming “the debt of Gujarat state has increased to ₹3.4 lakh crores and every citizen has a debt of ₹48,500.” in a bid to counter BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai’s statement on Tamil Nadu having a huge public debt compared to Gujarat.
This was instantly debunked by political observer Krishna Kumar Murugan who said, “Gujarat state has presented a revenue surplus budget of ₹9038 crore. Tamil Nadu has presented a revenue deficit budget of ₹37,540 crore with a debt of ₹ 7.5 lakh crore.”
Sharing the example of a failed “fact-check”, Murugan asked, “Is it necessary to have a Fact Check Unit with 80 posts on public tax money while part-time teachers and nurses are fighting for permanent employment for TET pass candidates?”
It must be reminded that a few years ago, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin felicitated several YouTubers, and among them were those who made rape jokes, created vulgar content, and abused Brahmins. Among the ones who met the CM was Iyan Karthikeyan.
The establishment of an FCU and appointing a DMK supporting YouTuber is nothing but an attempt at social media policing targeting critics of the DMK.
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