At around 7.30pm, KEM tweeted that its Facebook page was “unpublished.” The farmers collective also provided a screenshot of the page, which read: “Your page has not been published. This is because Kisan Ekta Morcha goes against our community’s standards on spam.”
“This is what they can do when people raise their voices. When they cannot ideologically defeat us,” KEM wrote along with the screenshot.
This is what they can do when people raise their voices ……. When they cannot ideologically defeat us ……. … https://t.co/OP3Xsp7hFH
– Kisan Ekta Morcha (@Kisanektamorcha) 1608472097000
Various farmers’ organizations have formed an informal “information cell” to disseminate information about the ongoing protest against the Center’s agricultural laws and to counter misinformation against farmers.
“They unpublished the page without any notification. We only got a popup around 7pm. We just explained the drawbacks of the bill. How does that violate any policy?” asked Baljeet Singh Sandhu, Vice President of Majha Kisan Committee, one of the organizations that was behind the formation of farmers’ accounts on social networks. Sandhu added that Facebook restored the page only after “pressure.”
“We have restored Kisan Ekta Morcha’s Facebook page and are sorry for the inconvenience caused,” a Facebook spokesperson told TOI.
The news of KEM’s suspension had sparked a flurry of reactions on Twitter. Several users accused Facebook of stifling dissent. “The action taken by Facebook to shut down Kisan Ekta Morcha requires a close look at its content moderation policies and practices. India has about 300 million Facebook users. It is the largest market. Even then there is little transparency or accountability. “said the Internet digital advocacy group Freedom Foundation tweeted.
.
