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Journalism of Courage
With the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections nearing, virtual spaces are abuzz with videos of parties campaigning for their nominees, citizens exercising their right to vote — some for the very first time — and the debate on alleged “deepfake” videos of political leaders. Here’s your daily round-up of what was trending on social media platforms on Wednesday.
Shyam Rangeela, a 29-year-old comedian from Rajasthan known for mimicking Narendra Modi, announced that he will contest against the Prime Minister from Varanasi. The contest to ensure that “democracy lives on” is not merely symbolic, he told The Indian Express. He said that he will contest “wholeheartedly” and will be reaching Varanasi this weekend to file his nomination papers.
“Hum at least ye kehne ke liye wahan par khade hue honge ke hum yahan par loktantra khatre mein nahin aane denge, logon ko vote ke liye yahan option milega (We will be standing there to at least tell the people that we won’t let democracy come under threat here, to provide an option to people to exercise their right to vote)… unlike Surat or Indore,” he said. He was referring to the walkover for the BJP candidates in these constituencies after Congress candidates withdrew their papers.
Members of the Shompen tribe from Great Nicobar voted for the very first time in the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, a picture of which the Election Commission posted on X (formerly Twitter). The tribe is one of the 75 communities which have been identified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG).
“The Election Commission of India being conscious of PVTGs inclusion in the electoral process had made special efforts in the last two years for their enrolment as voters and also participation in the voting process,” the EC said in a press statement. The release said that the poll body had also held special outreach camps across the states which were home to PVTGs for their inclusion in the electoral roll.
“Now AstraZeneca, the company that makes Covishield, has admitted that people can suffer from brain hemorrhage and heart attack due to the Covishield vaccine,” the post said. AAP alleged that the Prime Minister had taken “crores of rupees in donations” from the vaccine manufacturer.
Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s deepfake video circulating on social media, PM Modi alleged that the Congress was carrying out a “business of fake videos” in its ‘Mohabbat ki Dukan‘. “The prince of Congress… had set out with the Mohabbat ki Dukan, but he has opened a business of fake videos in it,” Modi said.
The BJP had on Monday complained to the EC about deepfake videos circulating on the internet at a time when Lok Sabha elections are in progress, and requested the poll body to ask social media giants to promptly delete such content when it comes to their notice, block accounts of habitual purveyors of disinformation and also place ads in newspapers to caution people against deepfakes. The BJP complained that a video of Amit Shah saying the BJP would end reservation for Muslims on religious grounds was falsely shown as him saying that the party would end quota for SCs, STs and OBCs.
