Social media platform “X” acknowledges removing posts and accounts of India Farmer’s protest

• Social media giant X has taken down accounts related to ongoing farmers’ protests in India.
• The site claimed it took down the pages after the Indian government sent them “executive orders”.
• Activists have complained about X removing their posts, with many influential X accounts suspended.

Social media major X (formerly Twitter) has admitted to taking down accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests in India. The site claimed it took down the pages after the Indian government sent them “executive orders”. X said in a statement that the orders were “subject to potential penalties, including imprisonment”, adding that it “disagreed with these actions”.

X shared its clarification on their official handle @GlobalAffairs. Several activists had earlier complained about X removing their posts. On Monday, X user and Indian journalist Mohammed Zubair wrote that “many influential X accounts” of reporters, influencers, and prominent farm unionists covering farmers’ protests in India were “suspended”.

Mandeep Punia, a journalist, informed the BBC that X withheld his account and that of his news platform – Gaon Savera.

“We are professional journalists covering rural India. We are reporting from the ground and the government doesn’t want that. The government is blocking our voice, but equally, this also affects our livelihood, our means of earning a living,” he said

In its clarification, X stated that it was withholding the accounts and posts in India alone “in compliance with the orders”. However, it added that the platform did not agree with the government’s action and maintained that “freedom of expression should extend to these posts”.

X also mentioned that it had legally challenged the government’s “blocking orders”, without specifying which court they had petitioned. India’s main opposition Congress party criticized the government for the clampdown, accusing it of trying to silence dissenting voices in a democratic country.

Several X handles also criticized the government for shutting down critical social media posts. The government has not yet responded to the X statement or the BBC’s request for a response.

Since 13 February, several farm unions in India have been on strike, seeking floor pricing, also known as minimum support price, for their crops. The protesters have been attempting to march to India’s capital, Delhi, from the neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

However, the authorities have heavily barricaded the city borders with barbed wire and cement blocks to stop them. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh states, governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have deployed a large number of police and paramilitary troops to prevent the farmers from reaching Delhi.

Activists assert that farmers constitute a significant voting bloc in India, and the government aims to avoid a protest spectacle, particularly with farmers on tractors and other vehicles, on Delhi roads, especially with general elections due in the next few months.

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