In a sensational development, Twitter has flagged a tweet by BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya on farmers’ protest as ‘manipulated media.’ Elsewhere, Attorney General KK Venugopal has given his consent for contempt proceedings against a cartoonist for a tweet raising questions on the Supreme Court’s integrity for extending special treatment to Arnab Goswami.
Malviya had earlier sought to debunk opposition parties’ claims that a security forces personnel had assaulted an elderly Sikh farmer during the ongoing protest against the Farm Laws. The photo of security forces personnel attempting to hit an elderly farmer had gone viral across the world. Malviya posted a video in a bid to establish that the man in uniform was merely trying to intimidate the farmer and had not hit him.
However, days after his tweet, Twitter has marked his social media post as ‘manipulated media.
Explaining its policy on manipulated media, Twitter says, “You may not deceptively promote synthetic or manipulated media that are likely to cause harm. In addition, we may label Tweets containing synthetic and manipulated media to help people understand their authenticity and to provide additional context.”
In another development, India’s attorney general has given his approval for contempt proceedings against a cartoonist after she implied that the Supreme Court was biased in favour of the Republic TV founder for his close proximity to the BJP top brass. Venugopal said in his consent letter, “I am satisfied that each of the tweets with cartoons attached is in contempt of the Supreme Court of India, hence I grant my consent.”
The Supreme Court has come under fire for according preferential treatment to Goswami while ignoring the plight of another journalist, Siddique Kappan, who’s been languishing in a UP jail for nearly two months.
LIVE UPDATES on today’s big stories will appear below:
16:44 PM: To give further impetus to the start-ups in the state, the #Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister #AmarinderSingh, on Wednesday cleared the decks for the establishment of the Punjab Innovation Mission and the Punjab Innovation Fund. (IANS)
14:59 PM: Chandigarh: Police detain Punjab Youth Congress workers who had gheraoed Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar’s residence, demanding an apology from him for alleged use of force against protesting farmers. (ANI)
Chandigarh: Police detain Punjab Youth Congress workers who had gheraoed Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar's residence, demanding an apology from him for alleged use of force against protesting farmers. https://t.co/Cti64Endr6 pic.twitter.com/yM86J8YZIK
— ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2020
13:48 PM: President Ram Nath Kovind appoints 10 Additional Judges to the Madras High Court. (ANI)
12:58 PM: UK authorises Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, to be made available across the country from next week. (ANI)
12:25 PM: Kangana Ranaut files caveat in Supreme Court, requesting that no order be passed without hearing her in case Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation challenges relief given to her by Bombay High Court order in property demolition matter. (ANI)
11:54 AM: Supreme Court refuses to pass any direction on a plea filed in the backdrop of Hathras gang rape and murder incident which sought reforms in the laws concerning rape and grievous injuries. The court asks the petitioner to file a representation before the Centre. (ANI)
10:41 AM: Single day rise of 36,604 new COVID-19 cases, 501 fatalities pushes India’s virus caseload to 94,99,413, death toll to 1,38,122: Govt. (PTI)
09:49 AM: Kaushambi: Eight people were killed after a truck overloaded with sand toppled over and fell on a car, last night. (ANI)
The incident occured at around 3:30 am. There were 8 persons inside the Scorpio car on which the truck overturned. 7 people including the driver, died immediately. The truck had a tyre burst because of which it had overturned. Further probe is being conducted: DM, Kaushambi https://t.co/ljD2AD5sDU pic.twitter.com/yIRNiGAeKR
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 2, 2020
07:55 AM: Actor and BJP MP #SunnyDeol has tested positive for COVID-19