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Jack Dorsey’s Dubious Track-Record On Democracy Comes Under Scanner As He Spreads Misinformation About Indian Govt

June 13, 2023
Hridya

In an interview to American podcast channel Breaking Points, former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, accused the Indian government of pressurizing them claiming they received numerous appeals urging them to block accounts that covered the farmers’ protest and those critical of the government.

He also alleged that the government raided homes of Twitter employees and was also threatened with a shut down in the country if they didn’t follow suit.

“India is a country that had many request of us around the farmers protest, around particular journalists that were critical of the government, and it manifested in ways such as ‘we will shut Twitter down in India,’ which is a very large market for us; ‘we will raid the homes of your employees,’ which they did; ‘we will shut down your offices, if you don’t follow suit,’ and this is India, a democratic country.”, Dorsey said.

In response to these allegations, Union Minister of State for Electronics & Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar refuted them saying the team under Dorsey was repeatedly violating Indian laws and that they were in non-compliance from 2020 to 2022 and it was only in June 2022 that they finally complied (after Elon Musk took over).

One of the key incidents that drew attention to Twitter’s behaviour occurred during the protests in January 2021. The platform was filled with misinformation, including reports of genocide that were later proven to be false. The Indian government took action to remove such misinformation from Twitter, as it had the potential to exacerbate the situation based on fabricated news.

Did Jack’s Twitter Comply Better Or Did Musk Do?

Under Jack Dorsey’s leadership, Twitter’s compliance rate for information requests by Indian authorities stood at a mere 5.6%, while in the United States, the rate was 69%. Similarly, for legal demands, Twitter’s compliance rate in India was only 19.5%. This discrepancy in compliance rates has raised concerns about Twitter’s willingness to cooperate with Indian authorities.

During this period, there were allegations that Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s Legal, Policy, and Trust & Safety Lead, and Jack Dorsey engaged in arm-twisting tactics and retaliatory actions. These actions allegedly involved manipulating the timeline of right-leaning accounts, as evidenced by leaked documents known as the Twitter Files. The leaked information suggested a deliberate effort to target and suppress the voices of right-wing users.

We are sure our readers remember this image of Jack Dorsey holding a poster saying “Smash Brahminical Patriarchy” in a picture with Vijaya Gadde and Barkha Dutt during his India visit in 2018 when he met with participated in a closed-door meeting with a group of women journalists, activists, and writers. This sparked a backlash and accusations of promoting casteist sentiments.

The poster was criticized for its generalization of the term “Brahminical” and its perceived attack on an entire community. Many individuals, particularly from the Brahmin community, condemned the use of the phrase and demanded an apology from Dorsey and Twitter.
Twitter responded by stating that the poster was a gift from a Dalit activist and that Dorsey was unaware of its contents when he held it.

Partisan Behaviour

It was also seen that under Jack Dorsey’s leadership, Twitter exhibited partisan behaviour and struggled to remove misinformation from its platform in India, despite taking action in similar circumstances within the United States. This inconsistency raised concerns about the platform’s arbitrary and discriminatory conduct, as well as its misuse of power to “deamplify” and deplatform certain individuals, potentially violating Articles 14 and 19 of the Indian Constitution.

The social media platform has been criticised in India and across the world for its alleged biases, partisan behavior, and controversial practices. Accusations of left-leaning bias, appointing critics of the Indian government in key positions, and interfering in elections have drawn attention from political actors.

Twitter’s Alleged Biases And Appointments

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, has acknowledged the platform’s left-leaning bias. Critics argue that this bias was evident in the appointment of Raheel Khursheed as Head of News, Politics, and Government, and Mahima Kaul as Head of Public Policy, for Twitter India.

Both individuals were known for their visceral hate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and allegedly operated Twitter by suspending right-leaning accounts and allowing hate speech from left-leaning users.

Mahima Kaul in fact used uncouth and obscene words unbefitting of her position.

Interference In Elections And Content Moderation

Accusations against Dorsey and Twitter extend beyond biases and appointments. There are allegations that Twitter under Jack Dorsey interfered in both the US elections by suppressing news unfavorable to Joe Biden while permitting similar news against Donald Trump.

 

Critics argue that Twitter leveraged the COVID-19 pandemic to generate revenue by allowing misleading or false information related to the virus to circulate on its platform, despite claims of prioritising accuracy.

The controversies surrounding Twitter sparked debates about freedom of expression and the responsibilities of tech companies in ensuring impartiality and fairness. The allegations against Twitter’s fact-checking process and biased content moderation have raised questions about the platform’s role in shaping public discourse and its impact on political narratives.

Twitter under Jack Dorsey had  silenced, shadow-banned and de-platformed several accounts in India that did not subscribe to its “left-leaning bias” while giving a free run to those who peddled propaganda against India and the ruling Modi government.

Not just in India, Twitter under Jack Dorsey even faced flak for arbitrary censorship.

The platform censored COVID-19 vaccine information from Harvard and Stanford educated doctors as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, Donald Trump, the President of the United States himself was de-platformed by Twitter. 

So, it is an open secret that Jack Dorsey made Twitter not as a common digital public good but as a platform to peddle his political ideology by interfering in elections.

Allowing Child Pornography To Be Freely Available On Twitter

Elon Musk took action to address the issue of child pornography on Twitter, which was reportedly neglected by Yoel Roth, who had been responsible for it. Musk criticized Twitter for its failure to combat child exploitation and stated that he prioritized this matter as soon as Ella Irwin, the current head of Trust & Safety, raised concerns about the lack of resources dedicated to child safety. Musk’s efforts have garnered appreciation from victims of sexual abuse for his proactive approach to tackling the issue of child pornography on the platform.

A lawsuit alleges that Twitter declined to remove extensively shared images and videos of a teenage trafficking victim, citing “a lack of violation of the company’s policies as per their investigation.” This is despite the nature of the content and the fact that it was extensively shared.

In addition, it is noteworthy that Twitter not only de-platformed numerous Indian pro-Modi, pro-Hindu accounts but also suspended the account of former US President Donald Trump.

Allegations have surfaced suggesting that the decision to remove Trump from the platform was influenced by internal pressure from “activist employees.” This raises concerns about the potential impact of employee activism on Twitter’s content moderation policies.

It is ironic and oxymoronic that he is talking about ‘freedom of expression’ and democracy today.

Jack Dorsey’s latest comments come against the backdrop of Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the US where once again he has been peddling the “Indian democracy under threat” rhetoric.

This has led many in India wonder whether Jack Dorsey is once again trying to meddle in Indian elections albeit behind a veil?

(Hridya is a freelance writer and columnist.)

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