Government asks Twitter to take action against cartoonist Manjul

Ground Report | New Delhi: The Center has written to Twitter asking it to take action against cartoonist Manjul, who has been commenting on socio-political developments. The government has complained to Twitter that the cartoons violate the country's laws. Manjul posted an email on his Twitter account on Friday informing him of the complaint.

In the email, Twitter has written that it has received a complaint from Indian Law Enforcement, claiming it “violates the law(s). In the email, Twitter wrote, "As a result of this request, we have not taken any action on the reported content (@Manjultoons) at this time."

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The government has sought action against Manjul’s profile instead of a specific tweet, claiming it “violates the law(s) of India”. The social media giant suggested that the cartoonist can seek legal counsel and challenge the government’s request in court, contact civil society organisations for finding a resolution, or voluntarily delete the content.

Posting a screenshot of the email received from Twitter, Manjul wrote, "Jai ho Modi Ji ki sarkar ki!" Manjul wrote in another tweet that it would have been better if the government had told which tweet was the problem.

In April, 52 tweets were removed from the social media platform following the government's order. The Center claimed they were spreading fake news, but most of these tweets were critical of tackling the health crisis as the second wave in India left states facing a shortage of hospital beds, oxygen, medicines, and vaccines.

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Cartoons on political issues

In fact, in February, at the peak of farmers' protests, Twitter blocked more than 250 accounts that were tweeting updates and information related to the farmers' movement - that too based on a government request. These accounts were of individuals, groups and media organizations including Caravan Patrika, Kisan Ekta Morcha, and several other independent journalists and activists.

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