New Delhi: A freelance journalist claimed that Facebook blocked his account for 30 days after he posted a receipt containing a slogan ‘Kamal ka phool hamari bhool’ (Our mistake, the lotus) on his page.
Mohammad Anas, a 29-year-old had shared, “Vyapari apne cash memo par print karva kar janta se bata rahe hain ki BJP ko vote dekar galti ho gayi (Traders are admitting their mistake of voting for the BJP by printing this on their cash memo)” along with a photo of the receipt on Tuesday.
Anas told Hindustan Times that within a few hours of sharing this post, he received a notification from the networking site ‘his post did not follow their community standards’. He received another notification saying his account has been blocked for 30 days.
The photo of the cash memo, which got Anas’s account blocked, originated from Gujarat’s Surat and has been circulated on the social networking sites for quite some time.
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“I did not say anything on my own. I just shared a photograph and quoted what was mentioned in it. There was nothing objectionable in it,” Anas told HT, adding that this was the fourth time his account has been suspended by Facebook.
“I have never used any abusive language, nor have I abused anyone, but similar posts that were critical of the government are being removed. This is Facebook fascism,” he said.
Facebook’s blocking of Anas’s account has triggered outrage as several activists and journalists criticised the social media giant for restricting free speech.