US government officials have condemned an online harassment campaign against a Wall Street Journal reporter who asked Indian prime minister Narendra Modi about his government's human rights record during a press conference at the White House last week.
"It’s completely unacceptable and it's antithetical to the very principles of democracy that ... were on display last week during the state visit," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said of the online vitriol that's been aimed at White House reporter Sabrina Siddiqui.
https://twitter.com/Farzana27373285/status/1673749408402505728
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later added that "we're committed to the freedom of the press" and that the White House will "condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of a journalist."
https://twitter.com/SupriyaShrinate/status/1673642062267179008
During a press conference with US president Joe Biden and Modi at the White House on Thursday, Siddiqui said "there are many human rights groups who say your government has discriminated against religious minorities and sought to silence its critics," and asked "what steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and uphold free speech."
https://youtu.be/1USaHoFBwo4
PM Modi, who rarely takes questions from reporters, said that he was "surprised" by the question.
“In India’s democratic values, there is absolutely no discrimination, neither on basis of caste, creed, or age or any kind of geographic location,” Modi replied.
“Indeed, India is a democracy. And as President Biden also mentioned, India and America both countries, democracy is in our DNA. The democracy is our spirit. Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy,” he added.
Before becoming prime minister, Modi was banned from entering the US for the role he allegedly played in the 2002 Gujarat riots, in which 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed. Since taking office in 2014, he's faced criticism for his human rights record, including censoring journalists and stripping the disputed region of Kashmir from its constitutional autonomy.
After her exchange with Modi, Siddiqui has been the target of online abuse, mainly from the prime minister's supporters and admirers in India, known colloquially as 'bhakts'.
The journalist posted a tweet in an attempt to silence online criticism questioning her "personal background".
https://twitter.com/SabrinaSiddiqui/status/1672433703480377346
The Wall Street Journal responded to the attacks in a statement calling Siddiqui “a respected journalist known for her integrity and unbiased reporting. This harassment of our reporter is unacceptable, and we strongly condemn it.”
https://twitter.com/catherine_lucey/status/1673430005370732550
The South Asian Journalists Association also defended Siddiqui. "We want to express our continued support of our colleague @SabrinaSiddiqui who, like many South Asian and female journalists, is experiencing harassment for simply doing her job," the group said on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/sajahq/status/1672635259328790531
https://twitter.com/MythiliSk/status/1673430452709801988
Other international rights groups and women's advocacy organisations have also condemned the social media trolling of Siddiqui.
https://twitter.com/IWMF/status/1673732523850072064
"It’s completely unacceptable and it's antithetical to the very principles of democracy that ... were on display last week during the state visit," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said of the online vitriol that's been aimed at White House reporter Sabrina Siddiqui.
https://twitter.com/Farzana27373285/status/1673749408402505728
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later added that "we're committed to the freedom of the press" and that the White House will "condemn any efforts of intimidation or harassment of a journalist."
https://twitter.com/SupriyaShrinate/status/1673642062267179008
During a press conference with US president Joe Biden and Modi at the White House on Thursday, Siddiqui said "there are many human rights groups who say your government has discriminated against religious minorities and sought to silence its critics," and asked "what steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and uphold free speech."
https://youtu.be/1USaHoFBwo4
PM Modi, who rarely takes questions from reporters, said that he was "surprised" by the question.
“In India’s democratic values, there is absolutely no discrimination, neither on basis of caste, creed, or age or any kind of geographic location,” Modi replied.
“Indeed, India is a democracy. And as President Biden also mentioned, India and America both countries, democracy is in our DNA. The democracy is our spirit. Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy,” he added.
Before becoming prime minister, Modi was banned from entering the US for the role he allegedly played in the 2002 Gujarat riots, in which 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed. Since taking office in 2014, he's faced criticism for his human rights record, including censoring journalists and stripping the disputed region of Kashmir from its constitutional autonomy.
After her exchange with Modi, Siddiqui has been the target of online abuse, mainly from the prime minister's supporters and admirers in India, known colloquially as 'bhakts'.
The journalist posted a tweet in an attempt to silence online criticism questioning her "personal background".
https://twitter.com/SabrinaSiddiqui/status/1672433703480377346
The Wall Street Journal responded to the attacks in a statement calling Siddiqui “a respected journalist known for her integrity and unbiased reporting. This harassment of our reporter is unacceptable, and we strongly condemn it.”
https://twitter.com/catherine_lucey/status/1673430005370732550
The South Asian Journalists Association also defended Siddiqui. "We want to express our continued support of our colleague @SabrinaSiddiqui who, like many South Asian and female journalists, is experiencing harassment for simply doing her job," the group said on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/sajahq/status/1672635259328790531
https://twitter.com/MythiliSk/status/1673430452709801988
Other international rights groups and women's advocacy organisations have also condemned the social media trolling of Siddiqui.
https://twitter.com/IWMF/status/1673732523850072064