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WASHINGTON: Meta has taken down a well-known Muslim news page on Instagram in India following a request from the government, according to the account’s founder. He criticized the action as “censorship” amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan.
Users in India attempting to visit the @Muslim handle, which boasts 6.7 million followers, are greeted with a message stating: “Account not available in India. This is due to our compliance with a legal request to restrict this content.”
The Indian government has not yet responded to the ban, which follows restrictions placed on social media accounts belonging to Pakistani actors and cricketers.
“Our followers in India have sent me hundreds of messages, emails, and comments expressing their inability to access our account,” stated Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, the founder and editor-in-chief of the news account. “Meta has blocked the @Muslim account based on a legal request from the Indian government. This is censorship.”
Meta declined to provide further comments. A spokesperson referred AFP to a webpage detailing the company’s policy on content restrictions when governments deem material to be “in violation of local law.”
This development, first highlighted by U.S. technology journalist Taylor Lorenz’s outlet, User Magazine, follows the most violent period between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in two decades. Both nations have exchanged heavy artillery fire along their disputed border since New Delhi initiated missile strikes against its rival.
At least 43 fatalities have been reported amidst the clashes, occurring two weeks after New Delhi accused Islamabad of supporting a deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir.
Pakistan has denied these allegations and warned that it will “seek vengeance” for those killed in Indian airstrikes.
The @Muslim account ranks among the most followed Muslim news outlets on Instagram. Al-Khatahtbeh expressed his regrets to followers in India, noting, “When platforms and governments attempt to silence media voices, it indicates that we are successfully holding those in power accountable.”
“We will continue to document the truth and firmly advocate for justice,” he added, urging Meta to reinstate access to the account in India.
India has also imposed bans on numerous Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly disseminating “provocative” material, including news sources from Pakistan.
Recently, access to the Instagram profiles of Pakistan’s former prime minister and cricket star Imran Khan has also been restricted in India, along with several Pakistani celebrities and athletes, including popular cricketers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, as well as retired legends Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram.
The escalating tensions between these South Asian nations have led to a flood of online misinformation, with social media users sharing everything from manipulated videos to outdated images from unrelated conflicts, misleadingly associating them with the Indian strikes.
On Wednesday, former U.S. President Donald Trump urged India and Pakistan to immediately cease hostilities and offered assistance in resolving the violence.
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