TikTok has deleted 20 million videos in Pakistan that violated the social media giant’s community guidelines. The company wants to make sure its platform is safe and respectful for all users.
This isn’t the first time TikTok has removed videos in Pakistan. Last year, it deleted 11.7 million videos for the same reason.
TikTok uses special tools to find and remove videos that don’t follow its rules. It also deleted 21 million accounts that belonged to children under 13.
In the meanwhile, it reported that proactive measures resulted in the global removal of 166,997,307 films, or around 0.9 percent of all videos posted on the site. “A significant fraction of these, 6,042,287 movies, were reinserted after additional examination, whereas 129,335,793 videos were recognised and removed by automatic detection systems.”
TikTok has now disclosed the number of comments removed and filtered by its comment safety tools for the first time. TikTok has removed and filtered 976,479,946 comments during the three-month period.
In Pakistan alone, the platform took action against 20,207,878 videos for also breaching its community guidelines during the same period. The platform utilizes automated systems to identify and remove videos that breach its rules.
Chahat Fateh Ali Khan’s recently released new song ‘Bado Badi’ is a massive hit, taking the internet by storm, garnering an impressive 20 million views on YouTube in just one month.
The singer featured his friend as a model in the song. Chahat’s passion for singing has made him a social media star, and his covers of popular songs are always a hit. Within his community, the singer is well-known for his love of singing. The song is popular and trending everywhere, where celebrities and content producers are making reels on ‘Bado Badi’
Many social media users are also sharing the original song ‘Bado Badi’, sung by Madam Noor Jehan. Indian actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh and Guru Randhawa also made reels on Bado Badi.
According to Samaa News, a spokesperson for Faisalabad Police has claimed that their depart has uncovered the events that led to the Jaranwala tragedy last month in which a mob of 7,000 Muslims attacked the Christian community, destroyed their houses, and burnt churches.
As per the spokesperson, the incident was a result of a personal resentment between two Christians.
Police claim that Pervez Masih, a Christian, suspected his wife of having an illicit affair with Umair Raja. Masih hired a shooter, gave him money and provided him with a motorcycle to kill Raja.
“A heinous conspiracy was made to desecrate the Quran after the failure to kill,” the Police claimed.
Pervez Masih is among the three suspects involved in the conspiracy. The police allege that Pervex wrote an insulting letter in Umair’s name and desecrated the holy book.
Resultantly, on seeing the letters and papers, people got furious, leading to the formation of a violent mob.
Currently, the three people, including Pervez Masih and Umair Raja, are under custody.
Pastor Alizer Sidhu of the Presbyterian Church survived a targeted attack in Khunwana, Faisalabad.
The incident occurred when Pastor Sidhu was returning to his home following a prayer sermon. He was stopped by armed men who shot at him. He was then taken to the nearest hospital, where he was said to be out of danger.
While being taken to the hospital, Pastor Sidhu recorded a video statement in which he said that armed men had stopped him and asked him to recite the Kalma, and when he refused to comply, one of the armed men chanted a slogan and opened fire at him.
Christian are under attack in #Pakistan September 4,2023 The church #Pastor has been attacked and is being treated in Hospital with serious injuries. He was attacked and shot after refusing an invitation to convert to #Islam before the shooting. https://t.co/EEQAQAxqCcpic.twitter.com/NS6WgEySWx
It is worth mentioning that on August 28, unidentified men spray painted slogans of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) on the boundary walls of the Presbyterian Church in Rehmat Town Khunwana, Faisalabad. This is the church where Pastor Alizer has been serving for the last four years.
Christian’s are under attack in Pakistan.
August 28, 2024 Appearance of the slogan of an Islamic hardline party, #TLP, and Name of #muhammad on the outer wall of a church in #Faisalabad‘s Rehmat Town area has raised fears of deliberate attempts to stoke Mob violence against… pic.twitter.com/EXwRNjpGC6
After the incident was picked up by the media, the slogans were removed in the presence of senior police officers.
Last month, the Christian community in Jaranwala was attacked by a large mob of 7,000 Muslims who destroyed their houses and set fire to their churches.
According to The Friday Times, while the Christian religious and political leadership condemned the attack on the pastor, they also demanded justice, urging for a transparent investigation into the incident.
Additionally, they also advised the pastors and minority rights activists to remain alert and abstain from travelling unnecessarily considering the sensitive and aggravating atmosphere of Faisalabad.
Social media users were left shocked on Wednesday when they discovered that popular community group Soul Bitches has been taken down from Facebook without any warning.
Soul Bitches was a popular community group on Facebook where women from all over Pakistan could share their stories and seek refuge in situations of abuse or domestic violence.
In a statement to The Current, the co-founder Rabeeya revealed that the platform gave no warnings before abruptly shutting down the group:
“Facebook didn’t get any prior warning! They just took it down. I am working with meta to get it back up.”
On Soul Bitches’ Instagram page, a statement was posted explaining what had happened.
“We deeply regret to inform you that Facebook has unexpectedly deleted or disabled our beloved Soul Bitches page. We want you to know that we’re tirelessly working to understand the reasons behind this action to get our cherished platform back up and running,” the post read. “We want you to know that we are tirelessly working to understand the reasons behind this action and to get our cherished platform back up and running.”
The co-founder of the group, Rabeeya, shared a post on her Instagram stories, where she thanked social media users for their support.
“Throughout its existence, this group had not only ralied for women’s causes but extended its compassion to animals as well. It was built for women navigating different circumstances, a space where friendships had forged, unwavering support, regardless of the highs and lows we encountered…The countless instances of being targeted, bullied, and made a spectacle of are not unfamiliar to us. We, as a community, fought those lows together to preserve the openness and freedom of Soul Bitches.”
Social media users expressed their dismay at the shutdown of the website, lamenting how online spaces for women were shrinking rapidly.
“People hated SoulBitches,” one user wrote. “Because women exchanged stories & became smarter about what they should or shouldn’t tolerate. Women told each other about their legal rights. Women gave advice to those in need. The page empowered women. This is sad. Not shocking.”
People hated Soul Bitches. Because women exchanged stories & became smarter about what they should or shouldn’t tolerate. Women told each other about their legal rights. Women gave advice to those in need. The page empowered women. This is sad. Not shocking. https://t.co/muLGguSgeG
“Facebook is a toxic place for women,” tweeted Digital Rights Activist Hija Kamran. “But SB was a way to seek care, support & a sense of community for them. I’m not sure why the group must have been deleted, but it sure seems like an attack on women’s access to safe spaces on a deeply misogynistic platform.”
Facebook is a toxic place for women, but SB was a way to seek care, support & a sense of community for them. I’m not sure why the group must have been deleted, but it sure seems like an attack on women’s access to safe spaces on a deeply misogynistic platform. https://t.co/SQNaZ8zenP
The Current has reached out to the co-founders of Soul Bitches, as well as to Facebook for a comment and will update the story as soon as they respond.
Designer Maria Butt, running the Maria B design label, somehow stays more in the news because of her controversial, many times toxic and mostly disappointing point of view than her clothing brand itself. The designer has a way of getting attention for all the wrong reasons.
So a designer who has been in the industry for a long should have evolved with the changing times, but sadly, to our disappointment, Butt reflects a more significant part of our society that is still stuck in ancient times. But, like many bigoted Pakistanis, it provides little to no space for accepting people for who and what they are.
Let’s talk about her many problematic views that have hurt the sentiments of many, put the lives of marginalised groups in danger and not to forget the very recent emotional damage done to a family because of her brand’s recent photoshoot.
Maria B has several times attempted to “raise awareness” about her apparent “vast distinctions” between the Khwajasira and Transgender community through her limited knowledge, which resulted in putting the lives of the already marginlised community in danger. People like Maria B should understand that the transgender community is struggling to stay alive, let alone benefit from rights granted to them by the laws of this country. She has a huge following and the words she utters against anyone have consequences of their own.
How can one forget that Maria B expressed great joy in a series of Instagram stories, when the censor board in Punjab banned the film Joyland. A film that has put Pakistan’s name on the world map was widely opposed by the designer. She then hailed the Punjab government saying, “You guys rock!” when they banned the film. Maria also highlighted how this ban “gives hope” to people like her who want a better future for children in Pakistan.
Despite being from a previliged class, she has only displaying ignorance. A member of Bahawalpur’s Abbasi family, the former nawabs of the once princely state, called out the Maria B brand for posting and later deleting pictures and videos of a campaign shot in their private family graveyard. The campaign featured shots from various locations in Bahawalpur. In it, the models are seen walking and twirling around in various locations, one of which was identified as the private graveyard of the royal family of Bahawalpur. The videos and pictures have since been deleted and the Maria B page posted an apology for the “unfortunate incident”.
Needless to say, Maria B has been receiving backlash for offering her unsought and limited knowledge about topics she is no expert on. Yet, her ignorance and insensitivity makes her believe that it is her duty to raise her voice, and speak without thinking of consequences for others. We can only hope she and others like her learn for the better. Pakistan is already intoxicated by the narrow mindset of many. We don’t want additional toxicity in our country.
An Ahmadiyya Ibadatgah in Karachi was vandalised by a mob on Thursday, Dawn has reported. The news was confirmed by police and the spokesperson of the community.
A police officer who requested anonymity reported that the spokesman, Mr. Mehmood, said that 10 to 12 masked men attacked and damaged the minaret of the place of worship in Saddar in an attack similar to the one that occurred in the Martin Quarters neighbourhood on January 18.
The incident happened around 03:30 pm, the spokesman told local police. Although there were several officers there, he said that they were helpless to stop the assailants. The Supreme Court of Pakistan in a landmark judgment on minorities’ rights issued in 2014, had asked the government to form a special task force for the protection of minorities’ places of worship.
Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal, Punjab’s Minister for Housing and Urban Development, approved the launch of three low-cost housing societies on Thursday.
This was announced at the 86th meeting of the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA) board, which was presided over by the Housing Minister, at the agency’s office.
These housing schemes will offer locals access to high-quality, low-cost homes:
Al-Rasheed Garden, Gujranwala
Al-Noor Garden Residencia, Sangla Hill
Campbellpur Greens, Attock
According to The News, a monitoring committee was also formed to oversee the housing developments. The delegates also agreed on the development of pension laws for PHATA workers, as well as other administrative issues.
Furthermore, in each of the housing complexes, a 20 per cent quota was set aside for the Naya Pakistan Housing Program (NPHP).
The Minister stressed the need of assisting developers in order to promote a smooth working environment and stated that corruption or dishonesty will not be allowed in his team.
He went on to say that the NPHP is a key priority for the province administration and that it intends to finish as many housing schemes as feasible in the shortest amount of time.
Earlier this month, the Housing Minister stated his aim to accelerate the creation of low-cost housing projects, saying, “Low-cost housing schemes should be finished quickly by working day and night.”
He also stated that a special cell will be established to encourage foreign Pakistanis to engage in the housing business.
A few days ago, a group of youngsters smeared a portrait of the first Nobel laureate from Pakistan, Dr Abdus Salam. The video was widely circulated on the internet that showed the group, consisting of State Youth Parliament Pakistan members, painting Dr Salam’s portrait black while raising slogans against the minority Ahmadiyya community, of which Dr Salam was a member, outside Gujranwala’s National Science College.
It was tragic to see that science students, rather than honouring Dr Salam, a world renowned physicist from Pakistan and champion of science in the developing world, would take pride in vandalising his portrait due to bigotry. Dr Salam’s contributions to science are undeniable and they have been recognised and hailed by the state of Pakistan as well. Thus it is unfortunate to see that our society is still reluctant to acknowledge him as a hero because he belonged to a religious minority. The white part in the Pakistani flag represents our minorities but if we can continue to persecute them, then we are in fact dishonouring our flag, our founding father’s vision for Pakistan and our Constitution that guarantees that all citizens are to be treated equally regardless of their faith, caste and creed.
Why do we treat our heroes so badly? Pakistan’s second Nobel laureate and the youngest laureate Malala Yousafzai has also faced a barrage of criticism from Pakistani society. Many a conspiracy theory is associated with the assassination attempt on her life despite the fact that she barely survived the attack. Thankfully, the state of Pakistan has been consistently supportive of Malala and Dr Salam. This gives us hope that one day our society, too, will learn to honour those who have made Pakistan proud in the international arena. We always complain how Pakistan’s image is portrayed negatively in the international press but people like Dr Salam and Malala and many others continue to make us proud due to their contributions in areas like science, education, arts, among others. Asma Jahangir’s work for human rights and women’s rights was hailed around the world but she was not recognised by several segments of society because of her bold views on fundamental freedoms. It is high time that we put an end to such thinking and be more tolerant and appreciative of the work that our countrymen and country-women continue to do for the betterment of Pakistan.
In an environment where we see rising political polarisation, religious intolerance, the state needs to continue to promote tolerance and honouring those who have made a mark. Dr Salam does not need validation from those who smeared his portrait; his work speaks for itself but at the same time, it is a tragedy that he does not have the same acceptance from fellow Pakistanis that the international community has given him. Let’s hope that one day, those who smeared his portrait too would feel ashamed of doing what they did.
