NEW YORK, Aug 24 (APP): The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a U.S. based watchdog body, Wednesday called on Indian authorities to “immediately” unblock the social media accounts of Gaon Savera, a digital media platform that advocates for farmers’ issues.
“The Indian government’s arbitrary ban on Gaon Savera’s social media accounts, within days of blocking The Kashmir Walla’s website and social media accounts, marks a disturbing new trend of censorship in India,” Beh Lih Yi, the CJP’s Kuala Lumpur-based Asia programme coordinator, said in a statement.
“The Indian government must stop targeting independent news publications and allow Gaon Savera to report without interference, ” she added.
On Monday, August 21, according to CPJ, Gaon Savera’s Facebook page became inaccessible in India, and its account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was also blocked the following day.
On Tuesday, August 22, Gaon Savera received an email from X, reviewed by CPJ, stating that the account had been withheld in response to a legal demand by the Indian government under the Information Technology Act.
The previous week, the website and social media accounts of the independent online news magazine The Kashmir Walla were blocked in India.