Top journalists denounce trolling on social media

Agencies
September 29, 2017

New Delhi, Sept 29: Online abuse heaped on a dead Gauri Lankesh lays bare the "hostile atmosphere" people are facing today on social media where an army of trolls is either "intimidating dissenters" or fomenting tension, according to leading journalists.

Shocked at the gunning down of the 55-year-old journalist -activist, an outspoken critic of Hindutva politics, many journalists and activists concurred that a "climate of fear" was being built by "paid trolls" on Facebook and Twitter to silence those holding divergent views or to "spread disinformation".

Senior TV journalist Ravish Kumar said that he felt like he was a "dead man walking" ever since he heard about the chilling murder of Lankesh at the entrance of her home in Bengaluru, an eerie reminder of the killings of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and former vice-chancellor of Hampi University M M Kalburgi.

"Gauri Lankesh's killing is not a one-off case. She was silenced because she bravely and fearlessly aired her views. People have been killed in the last few years just because they had a divergent opinion or dissented against an idea.

"Even after her (Lankesh's) death, many on social media are using abusive language to describe her. Look at your timelines (on Facebook and Twitter), there are people watching, what you are writing. She was killed to send out a message to all of us that if you dissent, you will meet this fate," Kumar said at a gathering yesterday.

Senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who was trolled for an article recently, shared how the world over people were fighting an "organised army of trolls, paid for by those with vested interest, either political or corporate".

"And, especially the extreme-right-wing people are using the techniques and the tactics in a Goebbels-like manner to spread disinformation, which is a propaganda, for a purpose, which is extremely pernicious. Fake news is being spread through WhatsApp and other media to foment hatred and tension, like in the Muzaffarnagar riot case," he said.
Facebook has more users than the population of China and it's is only growing. "So, it cannot be ignored or wished away," Thakurta said.

"It (social media) is like a surgeon's scalpel. It is sharp and can be used to remove a diseases part of the body and the same tool can be used to injure, maim or even kill somebody. Facebook and Twitter are becoming a difficult terrain, especially for journalists and outspoken people," he added.

Amid an outrage over the cold-blooded murder of Lankesh, scores of fellow journalists from various media houses yesterday gathered at the Press Club of India here, and also expressed concern over tasteless jibes being hurled on social media, for the political views she held.

JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar said, hours after her death, there were people on social media, who described her with demeaning epithets.

"It is a tough time for journalists. And, even RTI activists and environmental activists have been killed in the past. Now, social media is being used to intimidate and threaten people. If you have a different opinion or if you dissent and air your view on Facebook or Twitter, you will be trolled and harassed," he said.

General Secretary of Broadcast Editors Association Ajit Anjum said it was a difficult time for journalists and people expressing divergent views, especially on social media.

"People are being killed on social media first," he said.Noted Supreme Court lawyer Vrinda Grover, who was present at the protest meet, expressed her horror over the killing, and said, "We are living in very dangerous times."

"This was not a one-off, random case. Lankesh was killed because she stood and fought for ideas of justice and values enshrined in our Constitution -- liberty, equality. And, even after her death, people are using abusive language for her on social media. People being abused or intimidated on social media to silence them, is a very dangerous trend," she added.

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News Network
December 2,2025

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Bengaluru: 'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry) considered one of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s favourites along with steaming hot idlis was on the breakfast menu at Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday, according to official sources.

The spread also included 'nati koli' fry, vada and pongal, among other items, they said.

In an apparent show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence for breakfast, just days after the two leaders shared a meal amid a simmering power tussle in the state Congress.

Siddaramaiah drove to the Deputy CM’s residence in Sadashivanagar, where he was received by Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh, who is a former Congress MP.

Suresh and Kunigal MLA H D Ranganath, a relative of Shivakumar, joined them for breakfast, which featured a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Speaking to reporters later, Siddaramaiah said Shivakumar had invited him during his visit to the CM’s residence for breakfast on Saturday.

Asked about the difference between the two meals, the chief minister said, "At his (Shivakumar’s) house it was non-veg, while at my house it was veg. He is a vegetarian, I am a non-vegetarian. I had not prepared non-veg. I told DK to get chicken from the village as you won’t get the original in Bengaluru."

Shivakumar said he had initially invited Siddaramaiah to his residence, but the CM had suggested visiting his place first and reciprocating later. "It was a vegetarian breakfast at the CM’s house on Saturday," he noted.

"Today, I invited him (the CM) to my house. He enjoyed the breakfast, which had his Mysuru taste," Shivakumar added. At this point, Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar’s wife is also from Mysuru.

Saturday’s breakfast at Siddaramaiah’s official residence, held as part of efforts by the Congress high command to ease tensions in the leadership dispute between the two, reportedly included idlis and sambar, according to official sources.

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News Network
November 29,2025

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New Delhi: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Saturday put up a dramatic display of unity at a closely watched joint press briefing, firmly dismissing weeks of speculation about a power-sharing tussle within the Congress. With the high command nudging both leaders to sit together and settle the dust, the meeting became a political spectacle, ending with the duo declaring that there was “no confusion, no differences.”

Calling the reports of a rift “manufactured confusion,” Siddaramaiah said the talks had gone smoothly, even joking about their breakfast. “Breakfast was very good. All three of us enjoyed it,” he said. “We want to end this confusion once and for all. For local elections and for 2028, our mission is clear — Congress must return to power. There is no difference between me and DKS, not now, not before.”

He blamed the media for fuelling rumours and reiterated absolute adherence to the party leadership. “From tomorrow, let there be no confusion. What the high command says, we will follow.”

Siddaramaiah also assured that the Assembly session starting December 8 would run smoothly and vowed that Congress would take on the BJP and JD(S) “together.”

Shivakumar echoed the chief minister word for word, stressing loyalty and discipline. “People have given us a massive mandate. It is our duty to deliver,” he said. “This government was formed under Siddaramaiah’s leadership. We both have complete trust in the high command. If they tell me to wait, I will wait.”

He added that the two leaders had discussed strategy for the 2028 Assembly elections. “Whatever the CM says, I agree. We are loyal soldiers of the party. The party may be facing challenges nationally, but we will keep it strong in Karnataka.”

Shivakumar also said Siddaramaiah would soon visit his home for lunch or dinner — another symbolic gesture meant to underline their unity.

Both leaders later posted on social media describing the breakfast meeting as “productive” and focused on “Karnataka’s priorities.”

The BJP, however, rejected the show of camaraderie as “pure bunkum,” accusing Congress of trying to paper over an internal power struggle. But Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar insisted their united front would continue — and that there was “no confusion” within the state leadership.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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