Twitter blocks polling app ‘MyVoteToday’

new delhi — As it intensifies the crackdown on bots, trolls, and fake accounts, Twitter has blocked several accounts in India, including the handle of polling app ‘MyVoteToday’ that in a recent poll had asked people who they want to be ‘silenced’ and listed options of chief ministers, Opposition politicians and journalists, among others.

A Twitter spokesperson said that it would “not tolerate behaviour that harasses, intimidates or uses fear to silence another person’s voice” but declined to comment on any individual account.

“This account has been suspended,” is a response one got when the ‘MyVoteToday’ handle is searched on Twitter. Also, 27 other handles run by the promoter of ‘MyVoteToday’ have been blocked. “Our investigation found this account violated the Twitter rules,” a ‘MyVoteToday’ follower posted as the response received from Twitter.

‘MyVoteToday’ (@MyVoteToday), which had claimed to be the world’s second largest pollster and a “research partner of Government of India”, was created by Apption Digital Technologies Pvt Ltd based in Bengaluru and Apption Digial Inc based in Palo Alto, California.

In a recent poll, MyVoteToday had asked, “To #MakeIndiaGreatAgain which of the 66 alleged #EnemiesofIndia have to be silenced” and listed 66 persons, who were critical of government policies. —