Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was pictured with a controversial poster alongside six women


By MYBRANDBOOK


Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey  was pictured with a controversial poster alongside six women

 

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey  was pictured with a controversial poster alongside six women who took part in a discussion last week on the role of Twitter in India, where caste is a flashpoint issue and grievances can turn violent.

The tweet showed a grinning Dorsey holding a sign - while posing for a photo with female journalists and activists - that read “smash Brahminical patriarchy,” referring to the highest Hindu caste. The reference to Brahmins, the traditional priestly class who sit atop the rigid caste hierarchy, outraged some Hindus when the photograph was posted online on Sunday evening.

Several prominent Indians, including Infosys executive TV Mohandas Pai, accused Dorsey of “hate mongering” against Brahmins. “Tomorrow if @jack is given a poster with anti Semitic messages in a meeting, will his team allow him to hold it up?” Pai tweeted. “Why is that any different? Inciting hate against any community is wrong.”

Do you realise that this picture has potential of causing communal riots at a time when several States are going to Assembly Elections in India,' tweeted Indian police officer Sandeep Mittal. 'Even now an apology is not offered. Actually its a fit case for registration of a criminal case for attempt to destabilize the nation,' he added.

Twitter defended Dorsey in comments posted on its official India page Monday, saying a low-caste activist had 'shared her personal experiences and gifted a poster to Jack'.

'It is not a statement from Twitter or our CEO, but a tangible reflection of our company's efforts to see, hear, and understand all sides of important public conversations that happen on our service around the world,' the company said.

Twitter India’s office said the poster was handed to Dorsey by a Dalit activist - Dalits are at the bottom of the social hierarchy in Hinduism - while he hosted a closed-door discussion with a group of women to know more about their experience using Twitter.

Late Monday, Vijaya Gadde, chief legal officer at Twitter, who accompanied Dorsey to India, apologized.

“I’m very sorry for this. It’s not reflective of our views. We took a private photo with a gift just given to us - we should have been more thoughtful,” she said in a tweet.

Twitter, whose recent monthly active users globally averaged 326 million, does not disclose the number of its India users, but the country is one of its fastest-growing markets.

Its use is expected to grow in India as political parties in the country of 1.3 billion try to expand their reach to voters ahead of a general election in May.

 

 

 E-Magazine 
 VIDEOS  Placeholder image

Copyright www.mybrandbook.co.in @1999-2024 - All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Kalinga Digital Media Pvt. Ltd. is prohibited.
Other Initiatives : www.varindia.com | www.spoindia.org