COVID COVER UP?

Indian Government Orders Twitter to Take Down Criticism of Its COVID Response

The country is in the midst of the worst surge in the world, with hospitals and crematoriums overwhelmed and patients suffocating to death.

Twitter took down dozens of tweets critical of the Indian government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic at the behest of Narendra Modi’s administration. The 50-plus tweets, some of which shared photos of the country’s overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, came from a state-level official, a member of Parliament, filmmakers, journalists, and everyday users. Twitter said in a statement, “When we receive a valid legal request, we review it under both the Twitter Rules and local law. If the content violates Twitter’s Rules, the content will be removed from the service.” The company published news of the removals, initiated Thursday, to a database of government takedowns. COVID-19 is surging in India, with more than 300,000 new cases reported multiple days this week, the highest in the world.