Facebook recently cracked down on a couple of accounts which bore the name of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy. While one of them was a parody account which quipped digs at Swamy and right-wing outfits, the other one was a fan page moderated by the ‘activist’ group Shanknaad that upholds extreme right-wing ideology.
The parody account was called Unofficial: Subramaniam Swamy and the fan page was called Unofficial: Dr. Subramanian Swamy.
Fans of Unofficial: Subramaniam Swamy have initiated an online petition campaign on Change.org seeking restoration of the parody account.
Image Courtesy: Change.org
“This page revealed a lot of truth about the current politics in India. This was one of the rare occasions when parody account made more sense than the actual person and we just hope that sanity will prevail at Facebook headquarters and they’ll undelete this page,” says the petitioner to Facebook on Change.org. The campaign has amassed 2044 signatures.
“So, when Facebook says that it stands for Freedom of Expression (FOE), what sort of FOE are they referring to? If documented history is not FOE, if personal commentary on a post is not FOE, if sarcasm not intending to hurt anyone’s feelings is not FOE, then what exactly is Facebook’s definition of FOE?” says the admin of another Facebook troll account Truth of Gujarat.
In December, 2014, Subramanian Swamy tweeted that he will sue the social media giant if it does not delete the parody account. Unofficial: Subramaniam Swamy, which had over 1.83 lakh followers, posted pictures and memes that took jibes not only at Swamy but also at the BJP and its strong Hindutva leanings. The popularity of the parody page skyrocketed so much so that even Swamy’s fans mistook the parody account for the real one.
However, Swamy has an active verified Twitter account and does not have a Facebook page.
What’s funny is that the fan page moderated by the Shanknaad team was reportedly endorsed by Swamy himself.
“Mr Swamy does not have a verified account on Facebook. Furthermore, Facebook Community Standards explicitly state: On Facebook people connect using their real names and identities. We ask that you refrain from publishing the personal information of others without their consent. Claiming to be another person, creating a false presence for an organization, or creating multiple accounts undermines community and violates Facebook’s terms,” a spokesperson for Facebook said in a statement.
