A platform to demonize people? Study reveals how YouTube videos are targeting India’s Muslims, women

Agencies
June 14, 2022

Influencers backing BJP have used YouTube videos to spread conspiracy theories and hateful content targeting Muslims and women in the biggest market for the platform by user base, according to a report by the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.

The NYU Stern Center report highlighted the case of India to press Alphabet Inc.’s Google-owned video platform to look at its recommendations to boost content moderation and disclose information on how algorithms recommend and remove content. 

India has more than 450 million YouTube users, nearly double the size of the platform’s US base. The videos have helped fuel a conspiracy theory that Muslims spread Covid as a form of “jihad’, or holy war, according to the report titled “A Platform ‘Weaponized’: How YouTube Spreads Harmful Content – And What Can Be Done About It.”

The report also cited examples of rivalries between street rival vendors turning violent after a YouTube video campaign that singled out Muslims as well as anti-Muslim rhetoric often blending with online attacks on women. 

“A spate of misogynistic rants by nationalistic Indian YouTube influencers have made such invective popular on the platform,” the report said. “The diatribes, many of which include physical threats, are often delivered as selfie videos.”

A YouTube spokesperson said the recommendations detailed by the report were priorities for the platform though greater algorithmic transparency makes it harder to protect its systems. 

“We work to provide ongoing insights into how recommendations work, through blog posts, videos, interviews and more,” the spokesperson said. 

Requests for comments from the BJP and the Ministry of Home Affairs also remained unanswered.

Intensified hostility

With over 1.3 billion people and growing Internet use, India is an important and profitable jurisdiction for social media companies. However popular support for the Hindu nationalist agenda of Modi’s BJP puts big tech companies in a spot when it comes to balancing free speech with curbs on hateful content.  

While the report noted that religious divides existed in India long before YouTube came to the picture, “widespread social media use has intensified the hostility.” 

The report comes amid an ongoing controversy in India where two ex-BJP officials made derogatory remarks against Islam and Prophet Mohammed on a news channel and on social media, dragging New Delhi into a diplomatic spat with several Middle Eastern trading partners. It has also led to sporadic religious clashes in several parts of India.

The police have arrested a YouTuber from Kashmir for allegedly uploading a video that showed beheading an effigy of one of the suspended officials, local media reported, reflecting the challenges of curbing hate messages on the platform. 

Speaking at World Economic Forum in Davos last month, YouTube’s Chief Executive Officer Susan Wojcicki said the platform faced a test in keeping ahead of people creating misinformation and making sure it understood what they are. She said YouTube missed only about 10 to 12 content-violating videos per 100,000 views of videos on the platform, citing the company’s latest research. 

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News Network
November 15,2024

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Union minister Amit Shah on Friday, November 15, said PM Narendra Modi will amend the Waqf Act despite opposition from leaders like Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.

"Modi ji wants to change the Waqf Board law, but Uddhav ji, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule are opposing it," Shah said, addressing a rally at Umarkhed in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district.

"Uddhav ji, listen carefully, you all can protest as much as you want, but Modi ji will amend the Waqf Act," he said. Shah said there are two camps in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, one of 'Pandavas' represented by the BJP-led Mahayuti and the other of 'Kauravas' represented by Maha Vikas Aghadi.

"Uddhav Thackeray claims that his Shiv Sena is the real one. Can the real Shiv Sena go against renaming Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar? Can the real Shiv Sena go against renaming Ahmednagar to Ahilyanagar? The real Shiv Sena stands with the BJP," Shah said.

"Rahul Baba used to say that his government would credit money in the accounts of the people instantly. You were unable to fulfil your promises in Himachal, Karnataka, and Telangana," he said.

Shah said the Mahayuti alliance has promised that women will get Rs 2,100 per month under the Ladki Bahin Yojana. "Kashmir is an integral part of India and no power in the world can snatch it away from us," Shah said.

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 11,2024

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Udupi, Nov 11: The Karkala town police in Udupi have arrested Krishna Naik, the sculptor responsible for installing a 33-foot Parashurama statue at Umikkal Hill in Bailur, Karkala taluk. 

Naik, the owner of Krish Art World and a resident of Bengaluru's Visvesvaraya Layout, was apprehended in Mahe, part of the Union Territory of Puducherry, for allegedly substituting a look-alike statue in place of a genuine bronze figure at the Parashurama Theme Park in Karkala.

Udupi Superintendent of Police Dr. Arun K confirmed the arrest, stating that Naik faces charges under Sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code. 

This legal action followed a complaint lodged in June by Krishna Shetty, a resident of Nallur village, Karkala. Shetty claimed that Naik had received a payment of ₹1,25,50,000 from Udupi Nirmithi Kendra for the installation of a bronze Parashurama statue. However, Naik allegedly deceived the government by installing a replica instead.

The statue was unveiled on January 27, 2023, by then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has since ordered a CID investigation to probe deeper into the alleged fraud surrounding the statue's installation at the theme park.

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