Toolkit row: Congress asks Twitter to add 'manipulated media' tag to tweets of 11 Union ministers

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday wrote to Twitter and urged it to add the "manipulated media" tag to the tweets of 11 Union ministers for allegedly spreading false and malicious propaganda against the party.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala wrote the letter to Twitter's Lead for Legal, Policy and Trust and Safety Vijaya Gadde and its Deputy General Counsel and Vice President (Legal) Jim Baker, seeking stern action against 11 union ministers for allegedly spreading false and forged documents.
He was referring to the alleged toolkit document being shared by several BJP leaders and ministers with claims that it was created by the Congress to attack the Centre over the Covid crisis.

Surjewala alleged that the "forged, fabricated material" and the claims made under the #CongressToolkitExposed by various ministers are identical to the material that has already been marked as 'manipulated media' by Twitter.
Twitter had affixed the tag to a tweet by BJP leader Sambit Patra, who had shared a similar document a few days ago.
Surjewala aid that the subject matter of the "forged" Toolkit was created by certain BJP leaders to gain undue and wrongful political advantage by spreading potentially dangerous, false and fabricated material through their Twitter handles against the Indian National Congress and its leaders.
The union ministers against whom the Congress sought action are Giriaj Singh, Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prahlad Joshi, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Thawarchand Gehlot, Harsh Vardhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The letter comes a day after Delhi Police's Special Cell sent a notice to Twitter India in connection with the probe into a complaint about the alleged 'Covid toolkit'.
The police have asked the microblogging site to share information based on which it had classified Patra's tweet as "manipulated media".
The Congress has accused BJP leaders, including union ministers, of misusing the Twitter platform to disseminate forged and fabricated material.
The Congress had earlier complained to Delhi police to register an FIR against BJP leaders for allegedly spreading "false" information about the Congress toolkit.
The Centre had raised strong objection over the issue and asked Twitter to remove the tag in the interest of fairness and equity.
(With inputs from PTI)