Twitter blocks posts linked to website set up by Sikh separatists

TORONTO: India’s counter-campaign against online propaganda by separatist groups advocating an independent Punjab has resulted in a worldwide block on Twitter of any post referring to a website promoting November 1 as Sikh Genocide Remembrance Day.

This was the latest salvo in a virtual campaign against groups such as Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which is behind a campaign for a non-binding referendum for a separate state of Punjab, expected to be held in November 2020.

This follows deplatforming of the group across social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Whatsapp. According to a senior Indian official, this will have to be a sustained effort, though one that is necessary as these groups use online platforms to “amplify” their message despite having scant grassroots support.

The website set up by SFJ has a pre-drafted email message that can be sent by visitors to elected representatives in different countries to provide such recognition to November 1. The campaign was launched in Greater Toronto Area recently. SFJ’S legal advisor Gurpatwant Pannun claimed nearly 25,000 emails had been sent so far.

In an email, Pannun said the uptick in activity preventing SFJ’S posts on social media became evident in late August, days after the London Referendum in the British capital.

Vishnu Prakash, India’s former envoy to Ottawa, said social media had emerged as a “potent, low-cost” means “being used by undesirable elements all over the world” and felt it was “natural” for governments to “take whatever steps that need to be taken” to counter these new challenges.

He said this is a “cat-andmouse game” that law enforcement agencies will have to continue to play with elements involved in “rampant misuse” of these platforms.

India has upped its measures to prevent SFJ using the platforms to spread its separatist message since its London Referendum. Since then, Pannun’s personal Twitter handle was blocked and at least 10 Facebook pages with more than a million followers in total were barred from being viewed in India, though some are visible in North America. The group’s Youtube channel and one dedicated to the referendum were subsequently similarly blocked. A Whatsapp group with nearly 500,000 members operating in India was taken down in mid-september. SFJ’S flagship website is unavailable in India.