Tag: twitter

  • India’s ‘Don’t guess the age’ is the trend we want to see in Pakistan

    India’s ‘Don’t guess the age’ is the trend we want to see in Pakistan

    ‘Don’t guess the age’ is a new trend seen on Indian Twitter, and it has caught our eye. We sure want to see it in Pakistan.

    We despise the very common age-shaming in our desi culture, it is high time that we start embracing that age is just a number. It’s not creases on the face but the coolness of the spirit that matters the most.

    It all started with activist Viji Venkatesh posting an uber-cool and stylish picture of hers on X that prompted people to appreciate their own age and the coolness that comes with it.

    She captioned it, “Don’t guess the age, I’m 72 and killing it. #nofilterneeded”

    Her friends and other X users started posting pictures of themselves. Author Rana Safvi posted a picture with the caption, “Don’t guess the age, I’m 67 and trying to emulate dear Viji as far as the coolness quotient is concerned.” She also stressed it by adding #nofilterneeded

    Filmmaker and human rights activist Onir posted a picture of him smiling at an event and reiterated the point of no filter needed with the caption, “Don’t guess the age, I am 55.”

    The thread kept on expanding as an academician Latika posted a picture of hers playing basketball with the caption, “Don’t guess the age, I am 53 and some more.”

    Climate activist Natasha Ramaratham embraced the #nofilterneeded trend by posting a picture of her carrying a poster and telling the world that she is 52.

    AI product designer Subbakrishna Rao joined the trend, posted a picture of him receiving an award and smiling ear-to-ear. His caption was “53 and rocking it”.

    Sandeep Roy posted a picture of him holding the camera and quipped in the caption, “Don’t guess the age, but 56 in a few months. Mom would have sworn it was “Bao ki teo” (old bong joke)”.

    Humans grow, evolve, change and this should be considered an absolutely normal thing. While physicality isn’t in anyone’s control the spirit is very instinctual. We hope to see people embracing this in our own society.

  • X working with Pakistan govt to ‘understand concerns’ over ban

    X working with Pakistan govt to ‘understand concerns’ over ban

    Islamabad, Pakistan – Social media platform X said Thursday it would work with Pakistan’s government “to understand its concerns” after authorities insisted an ongoing two-month ban was based on security grounds.

    The platform, formerly known as Twitter, has been rarely accessible since February 17, when jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party called for protests following a government official’s admission of vote manipulation in the February election.

    “We continue to work with the Pakistani Government to understand their concerns,” X’s Global Government Affairs team posted, in their first comments since the site was disrupted.

    The Interior Ministry on Wednesday said X was blocked on security grounds, according to a report submitted to the Islamabad High Court where one of several challenges to the ban is being heard.

    On the same day, the Sindh High Court ordered the government to restore access to social media platform X within a week.

    “The Sindh High Court has given the government one week to withdraw the letter, failing which, on the next date, they will pass appropriate orders,” Moiz Jaaferi, a lawyer challenging the ban, told AFP.

    The court’s full decision is expected to be published this week.

    Both the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had for weeks refused to comment on the outages.

    “It is the sole prerogative and domain of the federal government to decide what falls within the preview of terms of ‘defence’ or ‘security’ of Pakistan and what steps are necessary to be taken to safeguard National Security,” said the interior ministry’s report, submitted by senior official Khurram Agha.

    The interior ministry suggested intelligence agencies were behind the order.

    The closure of a social media service “when there is request from any security or intelligence agency” is “well within the scope of provisions of the PTA act”, the report said.

    Digital rights activists, however, said it was designed to quash dissent after February 8 polls that were fraught with claims of rigging.

    Access to X has been sporadic, occasionally available for short cycles based on the internet service provider, forcing users to use virtual private networks.

    Mobile services were cut across Pakistan on election day, with the interior ministry also citing security reasons.

    It was followed by a long delay in issuing voting results, giving rise to allegations of tampering.

    Khan’s opposition party had already faced heavy censorship in the weeks before the election, banned from television channels and from holding rallies, forcing its campaign online.

    Despite the crackdown, his party won the most seats but was kept from power by a coalition of rival parties that had the backing of the military.

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    © Agence France-Presse

  • Interior Ministry ordered banning of Twitter in Pakistan

    Interior Ministry ordered banning of Twitter in Pakistan

    The Ministry of Interior, headed by Mohsin Naqvi, has accepted that it directed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ban X, formerly Twitter. The Ministry revealed this information in a reply to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), after the court had asked why the social media platform had been shutdown.

    In its reply to the IHC, the Ministry quoted the controversial 2021 social media rules stating that Twitter had not registered itself in Pakistan nor signed any MoU with the government of Pakistan.

    The reply to IHC said, “As a foreign entity operating in Pakistan, Twitter/X is subject to the regulatory framework of the country, including the compliance with legal directives issued by the Government of Pakistan.”

    It further said, “The ban on Twitter/X serves as a necessary step to address this regulatory vacuum and compel the platform to respect the sovereignty and legal jurisdiction of Pakistan.”

    The Ministry’s reply also said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has forwarded numerous requests to Twitter/X through PTA to block those accounts involved in a defamatory campaign against CJP Qazi Faez Isa and criticized the lack of cooperation from Twitter/X.

    It also mentioned that TikTok was also banned for a while by Pakistan, after which the company signed an MoU to abide by local laws, address content moderation issues, and enhance cooperation with Pak authorities.

    Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court (SHC) also directed the Ministry of Interior to revoke its letter regarding the suspension of X within one week.

    “What are you [interior ministry] achieving via shutting down trivial things […] The world must laugh at us,” said SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi.

    As of now, X/Twitter has been inaccessible in Pakistan for the last two months.

  • X blocks India election posts after takedown orders

    X blocks India election posts after takedown orders

    Social media platform X has blocked several posts in India containing political speech after authorities ordered their takedown ahead of a six-week general election that starts Friday.

    X, owned by Tesla boss Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter, said the posts would be withheld from Indian audiences until the election was over despite its disagreement with the order.

    “In compliance with the orders, we have withheld these posts for the remainder of the election period,” X said in a statement posted to the platform late Tuesday.

    “However, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts and political speech in general.”

    The posts by elected politicians, political parties and candidates made unverified claims about the private lives of their opponents, which India’s election commission said violated its code of conduct.

    The platform’s announcement of its compliance with the order came the same day X’s Brazilian office said it would abide by a court direction to block disinformation-spreading users in that country.

    Musk had earlier threated to disregard the Brazilian court’s order.

    The billionaire is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India this month to discuss major investment plans in the country.

    India, the world’s biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries globally for number of requests made by a government to remove social media content.

    Last year, an Indian court hit X with a $61,000 fine after the platform unsuccessfully challenged orders to remove tweets and accounts critical of Modi’s government.

    Rights groups say freedom of expression is under threat in India, which has fallen 21 spots to 161 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index since Modi took office in 2014.

    Indian authorities have regularly imposed blanket internet shutdowns during periods of unrest.

    That includes a months-long outage in the northeastern state of Manipur last year in the wake of ethnic violence.

    The government says internet cuts curb disinformation by stemming rumours from spreading on social media or mobile messaging applications.

    A total of 968 million people are eligible to cast a ballot in the election, with the final round of voting on June 1 and counting three days later.

  • Kangana Ranaut had to explain to Twitter that she did not eat beef

    Kangana Ranaut had to explain to Twitter that she did not eat beef

    Among the gossip spreading on social media, bigoted actress Kangana Ranaut, used X (formerly Twitter) to reject rumors about her eating beef. The controversial star stressed that she follows a healthy lifestyle based on yoga and Ayurveda.

    In a tweet she posted recently, Ranaut said, “I don’t eat beef or any other red meat. It’s shameful that there are completely false rumors about me. I’ve been supporting and talking about the yogic and Ayurvedic lifestyle for many years now. These kinds of tricks won’t make people think badly of me. The people who know me know that I’m a proud Hindu, and nothing can change their opinion.”

    An old tweet from 2019 started circulating again where Ranaut talked about her becoming a vegetarian and following a yogic lifestyle. It said, “There is nothing wrong with eating beef or eating any other meat. It’s not about religion! It’s not a hidden fact that Kangana turned vegetarian eight years ago and chose to be a yogi. She still doesn’t believe in just one religion. On the contrary, her brother eats meat” (Ranaut’s old tweet). However, Ranaut strongly denied the ideas in the old tweet. She emphasized that her beliefs match Hinduism’s principles.

    Ranaut, who recently joined politics as a candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi Lok Sabha seat, organized a roadshow in the city as part of her campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024. During this event, she sought support from the people of Mandi and assured them of her dedication to representing their interests.
    Looking back on her journey in the film industry, Ranaut talked about the difficulties she faced as an outsider, especially because of her regional background and language skills. Despite these challenges, she spoke proudly of her roots in Mandi and her strong determination to succeed despite adversity.

    With her recent movie Tejas and her upcoming directorial project Emergency, based on the life of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Ranaut continues to make an impact both in the entertainment world and in politics.

  • X gives free blue check to big follower accounts

    X gives free blue check to big follower accounts

    Users with big followings will receive a free subscription to X, formerly Twitter – and the platform’s famous blue check, the company said in another policy U-turn.

    Before Musk, the blue check mark was used as a verification system for major accounts including celebrities, institutions and journalists.

    But Musk saw the system as unfair to regular users and overhauled the blue checks so that they went only to paying subscribers, which meant thousands of holders were stripped of the feature.

    Late Wednesday, some users were surprised and even angry to find the blue tick reinstated.

    A message from the platform explained that they were given free subscriptions because they were an “influential member” of X.

    The site added that it “reserves the right to cancel the complimentary subscription in its sole discretion.”

    Musk said last week that “going forward, all X accounts with over 2,500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5,000 will get Premium+ for free.”

    Premium or Premium+ perks include reduced ads and higher placement in the platform’s feeds, as well as access to Grok, X’s AI chatbot.

    Some users who received the blue check saw it as a bid by Musk to revitalize the struggling platform.

    “Translation: Pay $8? Kidding. Help me. But don’t say anything too free speechy about me or my Garbage Tower of Babel,” actor Jeffrey Wright, who received an unsolicited check, said in a post on X.

    Since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, the platform’s advertising business has collapsed as marketers soured on his leadership and the mass firings at the company that gutted content moderation.

    X on Tuesday named company veteran Kylie McRoberts as the new head of safety in an effort to shore up income from advertising, still the site’s main source of revenue.

    According to most industry-accepted metrics, X has lost users since Musk took ownership, but the company says activity on the site has grown.

  • Government says X is a national security threat

    Government says X is a national security threat

    The Federal Interior Ministry’s joint secretary told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that “content uploaded on the internet” is a “threat” to Pakistan’s national security.

    Journalist Ehtesham Abbasi had filed a petition in IHC against the closure of X, formerly Twitter.

    X has been inaccessible in the country since February 17 and millions of users have been deprived of their basic rights.

    Justice Aamer Farooq heard the plea and asked the interior ministry about any written communication of the closure. “What is this method? What is this attitude? Assist the court,” said the IHC CJ, adding that everything is “closed and jammed”.

    The court expressed reservations that if the matter is as serious as national security then it should have been given in official writing. “Show us the documents. There will be no verbal conversation,” asserted Justice Farooq.

    “You closed X on the Intelligence Bureau’s (IB) report. There are no reasons written in it, only a report based on speculation,” he added.

  • Mahira Khan wants trolls to reflect in light of Kate Middleton’s cancer

    Mahira Khan wants trolls to reflect in light of Kate Middleton’s cancer

    The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, shared on Friday evening that she is battling cancer and receiving chemotherapy. The announcement came after many rumors circulated on social media about her health and whereabouts. Kate, 42, had not been seen in public since Christmas. However, a video surfaced this week showing her with her husband, Prince William, walking near their Windsor home. This sparked discussions among celebrities, many of whom criticized the digital speculation surrounding Kate’s absence.

    Some famous people criticized the rumors and asked for kindness.
    Actress Mahira Khan took to social media to write, “I wonder how people feel when they sit and type crap about public personalities. When they spend days believing their own ridiculous conspiracy theories, talking smack and being mean. Life is the same for all. Painful and terrible at times. Be kinder than you feel. You have absolutely no idea what someone is dealing with.”

  • Who Banned X (former Twitter) in Pakistan? We finally have an answer

    Who Banned X (former Twitter) in Pakistan? We finally have an answer

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) disclosed to the Sindh High Court (SHC) that the nationwide ban on the social media platform X, implemented on February 17, was executed upon directives from the Ministry of Interior, citing intelligence agency reports.

    Since February 17, the X website and application have remained predominantly offline, with sporadic service restorations, primarily occurring following statements made by former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatta alleging election irregularities.

    PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman announced his intention to address the disruption of X with the interior ministry during a telephonic conversation with Dawn.com.

    Rehman emphasized the need for clarity or accountability regarding the platform’s closure, highlighting that such actions are typically directed by the Interior Ministry.

    During a hearing, a two-member SHC bench, comprising Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi and Justice Abdul Mubeen Lakho, consolidated four petitions filed by lawyer Jibran Nasir, journalist Zarrar Khurho, and others concerning internet disruptions at various instances.

    In court, the PTA presented a copy of a letter dated February 17 from the Ministry of Interior instructing the telecommunication authority to block social media platform X.

    The letter sent by Muhammad Hashim Shah, section officer FIA, to The Chairman PTA stated, “It is, therefore, social media platform i.e. X (formerly Twitter) may be blocked immediately till further orders.”

    The PTA further revealed that these orders stemmed from intelligence agency reports.

    Expressing dissatisfaction over the interior ministry’s failure to provide a written response, Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi urged Deputy Attorney General Khaleeq Ahmed to submit a “serious response,” prompting the latter to later present a written reply on behalf of the interior ministry. The response stated that services were disrupted on May 9, following orders from all provincial governments, citing concerns for state and citizen security. However, it refrained from commenting on other aspects of the case.

    Following the inclusion of the ministry’s response in the case record, the bench adjourned the hearing until April 17, awaiting further proceedings.

  • Mohsin Naqvi seeks to review social media laws amid nationwide X disruption

    Mohsin Naqvi seeks to review social media laws amid nationwide X disruption

    Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has sought a review of social media laws to prevent misuse, as the popular social networking platform X has been disrupted nationwide for over a month.

    X, formerly Twitter, is not accessible to millions of Pakistani citizens without a VPN, getting suspended before the February 8 general elections.

    “Social media laws should be envisaged,” Naqvi said while speaking to journalists in Lahore on Tuesday, adding that “social media is being misused. Social media regulations have been implemented across the globe.”

    Mohsin Naqvi also said that it is necessary to maintain a difference between freedom of expression and spreading propaganda. “Everyone has the right to freedom of speech; however, it should not be misused.”

    The interior minister also said smear campaigns against politicians, the judiciary, and other national institutions should be stopped, further adding that there should be the implementation of social media laws in the country.