Half of Narendra Modi's Twitter followers are fake, claims social media firm

April 12, 2013
modi11Ahmedabad, Apr 12: Everyone likes followers. On Wednesday, when chief minister Narendra Modi's Twitter account touched one million followers, he tweeted, "A million followers! These are not mere numbers but it signifies your love and affection. Heartfelt thanks to you all".

However, all the love and affection Modi is overwhelmed with might not be all genuine. Modi, who is often accused by Congress leaders of misleading people with numbers, has around 50 per cent of his Twitter followers as fake.

According to an internet tool, Status People, launched by a group of engineers in London, Modi's account has 46 per cent fake and 41 per cent inactive users.

The website through an algorithm measures false and inactive followers of a Twitter user.

Modi started using Twitter in 2009 and in 2010, had one lakh followers. About a year ago, in November 2011, he had four lakh followers. But his following on Twitter increased exponentially in the last few months.

Creators of the internet tool, launched to expose fake users of personalities on Twitter, say that almost all Twitter accounts have a small percentage of false followers, partly because, unlike Facebook, any user can follow another. However, they say that worldwide personalities and brands get fake following to increase their importance among peers.

Congress leaders Arjun Modhwadia and Shaktisinh Gohil too have 5 per cent and 14 per cent fake followers, respectively.

"A celebrity's or politician's popularity is measured with their followers on social networking sites which might lure many to get fake followers. Like other forms of corruption, activists should also expose such fake followers because this misleads public," said communication expert Alyque Padamsee.

While these politicians may not have paid for getting fake followers, there are companies on web who can offer services to get fake followers.

Abhijit Sonagara, director of a city-based cyber solutions company, says, "Getting fake followers has become common. Several companies offer such service for 10 paise to 50 paise per fake follower. Many times it's the celebrities themselves or their PR managers who indulge in such activities."

A BJP spokesperson, however, said that it's Modi's development agenda which is being endorsed across the world and that has got the large following.

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Agencies
January 12,2020

New Delhi, Jan 12: A fact-finding committee of the Congress on the JNU violence on Sunday said the January 5 attack inside the university campus was "state-sponsored" and recommended Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar be dismissed and criminal investigation initiated against him.

The Congress had appointed a four-member fact-finding committee to carry out a detailed inquiry into the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Sushmita Dev, member of the committee, said the committee recommended that Kumar should be dismissed immediately and all the appointments in faculty should be probed and independent inquiry should take place.

"Criminal investigation must take place against the VC and faculty members and the security company," the Mahila Congress chief said.

"It is clear that the attack on JNU campus was state-sponsored," Dev said.

She also demanded a complete rollback of the JNU fee hike.

The other members of the fact-finding committee are Hibi Eden, MP and former NSUI president, Syed Naseer Hussain, MP and former president of JNU NSUI and Amrita Dhawan, a former NSUI president and ex-DUSU president.

On January 5 night, masked people armed with rods and sticks stormed the JNU campus and assaulted students and faculty members, and vandalised property, leaving several people injured.

Leftist outfits and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) blamed each other for the violence.

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News Network
July 3,2020

New Delhi, Jul 3: India reported the highest ever single-day spike of 20,903 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours on Friday, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With these new cases, India's coronavirus tally has risen to 6,25,544 cases of which 2,27,439 patients are active cases while 3,79,892 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

379 more deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in the country in the last 24 hours, taking the number of deaths due to the infection to 18,213.

As per the Health Ministry, Maharashtra -- the worst-affected state from the virus -- has a total of 1,86,626 cases including 8,178 fatalities while Tamil Nadu has 98,392 coronavirus cases in the state inclusive of 1,321 fatalities.

Delhi has reported 92,175 cases so far inclusive of 2,864 patients succumbing to the virus.

The Indian Council of Medical Research on Friday said that the total number of samples tested till July 2 is 92,97,749 of which 2,41,576 samples were tested on Thursday.

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News Network
April 7,2020

New Delhi, Apr 6: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Monday complimented his counterparts in other states for voluntarily accepting a 30 per cent cut in their salaries and allowances in the fight against coronavirus.

Talking to the news agency over the phone, Khan referred to the announcement in this regard made by the Centre on Monday and said he had already written to President Ram Nath Kovind, asking him to reduce his salary and allowances by 30 per cent.

"It is everyone's duty to do this when the country is fighting the pandemic. Even if it is more than 30 per cent of the salary cut, we have to accept it, he said.

The country is fighting an invisible enemy and it is everybody's duty to contribute to meet the challenge, the governor said.

Khan appreciated the LDF government in Kerala and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for taking "proactive" measures in containing spread of coronavirus.

"The government is keeping me informed about the measures taken by it and I on my part give them suggestions and ideas to tackle the menace," he said.

In Kerala, "We have a capable and competent government and over 80 per cent of patients in the state are those Indians who returned from abroad or foreigners. The community spread cases are very less, he said.

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