Updated: December 21, 2020 8:32:20 am
Farmers have been camping at various border points in Delhi for more than three weeks. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)
A Facebook page, which was created by the “IT cell” of farmers’ organizations to “counter misinformation,” was removed by Facebook on Sunday for a few hours. According to a statement issued by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, at 7pm, a Facebook was being broadcast live from the page where they were talking about how they had reached 94 lakhs of people through the page. “The page was unpublished at 7 in the afternoon. We had started a live broadcast, telling people that Kisan Ekta Morcha’s Facebook reach was 94 lakh and that the page was not published. Tomorrow we will address a proper press conference with all agricultural leaders … the page was (later) republished, ”the statement said.
The removal caused outrage on social media, with people wondering why the page was removed.
Facebook, meanwhile, said it regretted the inconvenience, but did not say why the page was removed. “We have restored Kisan Ekta Morcha’s Facebook page and regret the inconvenience caused,” said a spokesperson for the Facebook company.
The TI Cell comprises more than 25 volunteers online and 35 ‘offline’, and works 24 hours a day, monitoring online discussions and “fake news” about farmer protests. The cell created the identifier, Kisan Ekta Morcha, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, reaching billions within days of its inception. While most of the volunteers are from Punjab, some are also from Delhi and most work from home.
It was officially launched at a press conference three days ago in the presence of high-level agricultural leaders to “convey authentic and official information” about the protests. Members manage individual social media accounts, posting details about the protests throughout the day, including posters and logos for the day’s events.
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