Facebook, the social media giant, on Thursday
issued a clarification over blocking #ResignModi that called for Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation, over the alleged mishandling of the COVID crisis, saying the incident occurred because
of a ‘mistake’, reports PTI.

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“We temporarily blocked this
hashtag by mistake, not because the Indian government asked us to, and have
since restored it,” PTI quoted a Facebook spokesperson as saying in a
comment.

Reportedly, users looking for the hashtag
were provided with a message from Facebook, which stated that the post was ‘temporarily
hidden here’ as it ‘went against’ the platform’s ‘community standards’.

India is at the centre of a devastating COVID-19 wave, registering a record number
of cases daily that has put extreme pressure on the healthcare
infrastructure of the country.

The massive rise in infections in the
second wave of the pandemic has led to hospitals in several states reeling
under a severe shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

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Social media timelines are filled
with SOS calls with people looking for oxygen cylinders, hospital beds, plasma
donors and ventilators. Organisations across the spectrum have come forward to
support the fight against the COVID pandemic.

Recently, Twitter and other social
media platforms removed about 100 posts and URLs after the government asked
them to remove content that was critical of the handling of the current medical
crisis or spreading fake news around the pandemic, according to PTI.

Reports citing Lumen database, an
independent research project studying cease and desist letters concerning
online content, suggested that more than 50 posts – including those by a Member
of Parliament, MLA and filmmakers – were removed by Twitter on government
request.

Government sources, as reported by the news agency, had said the
social media platforms were asked to remove the posts and URLs (uniform
resource locators) to “prevent obstructions in the fight against the
pandemic” and disruption of public order due to the said posts.

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They had added that the order was
issued in view of the misuse of social media platforms by certain users to
spread fake or misleading information and create panic about the pandemic in
the society “by using unrelated, old and out of the context images or visuals,
communally sensitive posts and misinformation about COVID-19 protocols”.