Taliban's return triggers Islamophobia on Indian social media
We hope you're doing well and staying safe. This week in The Checklist, we look at how the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has triggered Islamophobia and a hate campaign against Muslim public figures on Indian social media.
We also look at how Ethiopia and Cuba are tightening their grip on internet and social media. Ethiopian government announced its decision to build indigenous rival platforms to Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. And, in Cuba, critics fear the new cybersecurity law would limit political and civic freedom.
Also, do not miss our blog post in which we speak to Indian fact-checkers on the trauma and psychological effects associated with regular exposure to graphic and distressing content.
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How Taliban return in Afghanistan triggered Islamophobia in India (Al Jazeera)
The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has unleashed a new wave of Islamophobia against its Muslim minority. Muslim politicians, writers, journalists, social media influencers and everyday citizens have become the targets of a hate campaign launched by the country’s right wing. As soon as the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government last month, the hashtag #GoToAfghanistan began trending on Indian social media, a repeat of the #GoToPakistan campaign launched by right-wing groups who want to turn India into an ethnic Hindu state.
“The word Taliban or Talibani is deliberately being fed into the vocabulary of the masses by both sides of the spectrum – people who might be anti- or pro-BJP. It is being done just the way Pakistani or ‘jihadi’ or ‘aatankwadi’ (terrorist) terms were fed as slurs against Muslims.” — Hussain Haidry, poet and activist
Ethiopia to build social media platform to rival Facebook, Twitter (Reuters)
Ethiopia has begun developing its own social media platform to rival Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, though it does not plan to block the services. This action may have been prompted by Facebook's decision in June 2021 to remove a network of fake accounts in Ethiopia targeting domestic users which it linked to individuals associated with Information Network Security Agency (INSA), which is responsible for monitoring telecommunications and the internet.
"The government wants its local platform to "replace" Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Zoom. The rationale behind developing technology with local capacity is clear ... Why do you think China is using WeChat?" — Shumete Gizaw, director-general of Ethiopia's Information Network Security Agency (INSA)
Critics say new Cuba cybersecurity law limits freedom (France24)
Cuba published its first cybersecurity law, a move critics dismissed as a tool to limit political and civic freedoms on the Caribbean island. The law, published in the official Gaceta newspaper, comes just over a month after unprecedented anti-government protests broke out all over the country.
"It would allow Cubans to protect their personal data and their privacy and make sure that no one is able to distort the truth, so that no one can denigrate an official of our country or our revolutionary process." — Wilfredo Gonzalez, Deputy Minister of Communications
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