Twitter deletes handle of India-based journalist Francois Gautier

Microblogging site Twitter has again used its unilateral power to delete accounts in order to censor and suppress freedom of speech on its platform. The latest account to be deleted is the Twitter handle of journalist Francois Gautier.

Gautier, who is an Indophile, is an India-based journalist who served as the South Asian correspondent for multiple reputed French-language dailies. He also wrote columns for Indian newspapers. He is particularly known for his interest in Indian history. Gautier has also authored books on India and his experiences in the country.

Editor and author Anand Ranganathan called for Twitter to restore Gautier’s account.

Academic and political commentator Madhu Purnima Kishwar also criticised Twitter’s banning of Francois Gautier and, tagging the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, asked that the big tech company be “taken to task”. Reportedly, Gautier had tweeted in criticism of Swedish radical climate activist Greta Thunberg and Disha Ravi, an accused in the recent ‘toolkit’ case, before his account was banned.

Earlier, Oxford University student Rashmi Samant’s handle had been deleted but was later restored. However, she had lost all her followers. Samant, who was elected as the student body president at Oxford, had to resign from the presidentship of the Oxford University Students’ Union after she was bullied and accused by a section of people for being racist and transphobic. Samant is the first female from India to be elected to the post.

Twitter, on many occasions, has used its powers under its practices to ban accounts which it claims to spread hate and incite violence. Last year, former US President Donald Trump was banned from the social platform and his account was deleted. More recently, PM Modi’s tweet commemorating the bit anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji was censored.

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