A report has exposed social media platform Instagram accusing it of fuelling cow vigilantism violence in India.
The report titled, Streaming Violence: How Instagram Fuels Cow Vigilantism in India, by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) on Tuesday, November 19, covered an alarming rise in mob lynchings targeting Muslims across the country, often justified by perpetrators under the guise of “cow protection” laws.
Finding of the report
The CSOH analysed 1,023 Instagram accounts associated with cow vigilante activities and violence over six months. It found that 30 percent of these accounts shared videos featuring cow vigilantes physically assaulting people who were transporting cows, the victims mostly being from the Muslim community. This alarming trend underscores how Instagram encourages and amplifies such violence.
Additionally, reels that unambiguously depict these violent acts, including high-speed chases and assault garnered approximately three times more views, on average, compared to other non-violent video content posted by the same users.
The study highlights that some of the accounts that were requesting donations had also shared some form of violence, hence the link between calling for funds and displaying violence.
Accounts affiliated with right-wing outfits
The report also noted that nine out of the 50 most followed accounts had connections to the Bajrang Dal, a far-right Hindu organisation. This connection raises questions regarding the political support these groups receive and their capacity to work without facing the consequences within BJP-governed states, where 95 percent of the profiles were identified and located during analysis.
Geographic distribution of accounts
The report discovered that 95 percent of such accounts were located in states ruled by the BJP, with Haryana emerging as a significant hotspot, making up 320 of the examined records.
The highest number of cow vigilante accounts operated in states.
Photo source: Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH)
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Instagram fails to enforce its community guidelines
Instagram owned by Meta Platforms failed to enforce its community guidelines violations rules, said the CSOH, noting that 167 posts containing explicit violence were reported under the violence and hate categories on Instagram. However, none of these posts was removed by Instagram, which yielded a 100 percent inaction rate.
The lack of community guidelines has encouraged the accounts to glorify violence and solicit funds using gifts where the viewers can directly contribute towards funding such radical vigilante groups.
The think tank in its report wrote, “Of the 150 most-followed accounts which had posts showing vigilantes engaging in physical violence against people who were transporting cattle, CSOH found that 53 accounts (35.3 percent), had the “Send Gift” option activated on their reels.
A total of 167 Instagram posts depicting explicit violence by cow vigilantes were reported by selecting the “showing violence, death, or severe injury” option under the “violence, hate, and exploitation” category. Despite clear guideline violations, Instagram failed to remove any, resulting in a 100 percent inaction rate.
The study exposes the disturbing reality where social media platforms like Instagram not only mitigate hate speech but also encourage corresponding activities with the result of creating terror among minorities in India.
The report demands Meta classify cow vigilante groups as a dangerous organization and take concrete steps to counter their influence on the platforms.
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