New Delhi: Amid the Twitter frenzy in the wake of international tweets on farmers’s protests, its CEO Jack Dorsey on Thursday hit the ‘like’ button on several posts that hailed pop singer Rihanna for her support to the ongoing agitations. Not only that, he also ‘liked’ a tweet asking for an emoji for the hashtag #FarmersProtests. Dorsey liked 2 tweets by Washington Post journalist Karen Attiah, one of those which praised the singer.

The tweet said:”Rihanna has raised her voice for social justice movements in Sudan, Nigeria, and now India, and Myanmar. She is a real one.”

Another tweet that Dorsey ‘liked’ was also by Attiah, in which she wrote that it would be a good time for the social media platform to add a Twitter emoji for the farmers protests in India, as it had done for international protests such as ‘Black Lives Matter’. The tweet read, “Now is as a good time as ever for @Twitter and @Jack to add a Twitter emoji to the massive #FarmersProtests in India – as they did for historic international protests like #BlackLivesMatter and #EndSars”.

When we checked Jack Dorsey’s ‘likes’, we found that he had ‘liked’ both of the above mentioned tweets, apparently signalling his support for farmers’ protests and taking a political stand amid a divisive scenario.

What had happened?

A Twitter frenzy broke out on Wednesday when American pop singer Rihanna posted a news link on India’s farmers’ protest and tweeted, “why aren’t we talking about this?!” It triggered widespread outrage from Indians questioning Rihanna’s credentials and knowledge about India’s internal matters.

This was followed by Greta Thunberg, the celebrity teenager famous for her environmental activism, tweeting, “We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India.” Lebanese-American former pornographic actress Mia Khalifa also joined the bandwagon by posting a picture of Indian women protesters with a comment, “What in the human rights violations is going on?! They cut the internet around New Delhi?! #FarmersProtest”

Soon after these tweets went viral, the Indian government in a strong reaction described them as part of “vested interest groups” and their support as “sensationalist social media hashtags and comments” which are “neither accurate nor responsible.” “Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken,” the statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs read.

A host of actors, politicians, and cricketers including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar have slammed Rihanna, Thunberg, and others for tweeting about the farmers’ protest, using hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.

Notably, the farmers are demanding that the government cancel three new laws that they believe will hurt their income by taking away guaranteed minimum prices and by leaving them vulnerable to corporates.