Twitter has allegedly taken down a meme that made fun of the ‘dynastic succession’ in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, featuring former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, his son and present Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin and grandson Udhayanidhi Stalin who is now a Minister in his father’s government.
According to a report by The Hindu, the company said it received an order from “Tamil Nadu Law Enforcement” to remove the offensive tweet on January 24. The Commune was not able to trace the link to The Hindu’s article online, however a snippet of the alleged article has been shared by political commentator ‘Savukku’ Shankar
Apparently, the meme showed the three DMK leaders asking party veteran and Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan to do a task for them.
The tweet reportedly had only 450 views, 19 retweets, and 40 likes before it was removed.
Twitter’s India country head Kanika Mittal did not respond to The Hindu’s request for comments, the alleged report noted. Twitter has no communications team ever since billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk bought it.
Twitter usually does not comply with takedown orders in political matters unless they come from the Union government or a court. This is the second time in recent weeks that the company has removed a tweet without such orders.
It is also intriguing that the link to the online article of The Hindu is missing.
கருத்து சுதந்திர காவலர்கள். pic.twitter.com/W2RgU5PWbF
— Savukku Shankar (@Veera284) March 2, 2023
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