Facebook strikes down 700 pages before elections |
Social media giant Facebook is keeping a strict vigil on the unethical and misleading activities on the website pertaining to the Indian National Elections. Facebook on Monday removed nearly 700 pages and accounts from its servers which included several pages from Congress and BJP. The move is believed to have caused more damage to BJP then the Congress. Of these, 687 pages and accounts were linked to "individuals associated with the IT cell of Congress" but there were 15 pages, groups and accounts that were spreading pro-BJP information, Facebook said in a statement. While the number of Congress pages taken down was higher, those pages had only 2 lakh followers, said Facebook. In contrast, the pro-BJP content of 1 Page, 12 Facebook accounts, 1 Group and 1 Instagram account -- had over 26 lakh followers. Also, more money was spent on the pro BJP pages that were taken down. While the pro-Congress pages involved an expenditure of $39,000 in spending on Facebook ads since August 2014, the corresponding amount for the pro-BJP pages were $70,000. While the Congress tweeted, saying no official page was taken down, the BJP is yet to respond. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress is "desperate and therefore resorting to these types of dubious means to claim support".
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