With a general election due by May 2024, and several state elections this month, disinformation and hate speech targeting them are on the rise, fact-checkers and tech experts said. Asked to comment, Tom Vadakkan, a national spokesperson for the BJP, said: "The BJP and the government do not encourage any hate speech against any community or person." Meta has "clear policies against hate speech and removes hateful content that targets anyone based on their religion, nationality, ethnicity or caste," the spokesperson said. "The platforms seem more intent on shutting down Muslim users than shutting down hate speech," said S.Q. Masood, a minority rights activist in the Indian city of Hyderabad, who has filed two complaints about hate speech on social media.

Source: The Telegraph November 27, 2023 18:02 UTC