Skip to main content

Facebook strangely withdraws an innocent Gujarati article without stating reasons

By Rajiv Shah 
Recently, reputed Gujarati journal "Sarthak Jalso", edited by well known writer Urvish Kothari, published an article by Shruti Shah. I posted its pdf version, sent to me by Urvishbhai, on a blog Shruti and I run: https://saankal.blogspot.com/.  
The article is about our seven year long stay in the former Soviet Union during the turbulent period that led to the collapse of the Communist rule -- 1986-93. I thought Gujarati readers would be interested in reading the article, hence I posted a link of the blog post on Facebook.
Prompt came Facebook's reply: the link violates it's community standards, so I should withdraw the article or send my objection. I sent objection, but nothing happened! 
I don't understand which community standards was the Facebook referring to. The link carried snapshots of cover of "Sarthak Jalso" and first page of Shruti's article. 
The cover has photograph of two towering mountain edges very close to each other and a person, visible very small, walking in between. How can any of it be violation of community standards? Which ones, after all? Facebook appears to offer no answer.
The article is in Gujarati, and it's about Shruti as Russian-Gujarati translator in Moscow's Raduga publishing house. Facebook's algorithm wouldn't read and understand a word of it, I presume.
Something appears to be fundamentally wrong with Facebook's automatic algorithm. How can it not allow a totally innocent article's blog link with photos posted? 
Sounds strange, as I also posted the same link on X, formerly Twitter, and it immediately posted it. Despite all the controversy surrounding X, it seems its algorithm is sounder than that of Facebook.
Anyway, click here to read Shruti's article, focusing on her work as translator amidst a collapsing country.

Comments

TRENDING

To Sonam Wangchuk: 'Will undertake 70 hour solidarity fast in Gujarat'

By Martin Macwan *  Dear Colleague Sonam Wangchuk, I have never met you personally. I wrote a short article at the time of your arrest. Your work correctly introduces you. There is truth in your words. You have embarked on a fast, following the footsteps of Gandhiji. Your intention is to make people think. Your demand is reasonable; I believe that the resignation of a single education minister will not improve the state of education in India. However, the question you have raised is extremely important for the future generation of the marginalized. Education is the key to power, development, and progress, which empowers a citizen.

Gujarat police SOP sparks questions over communal profiling

By Shabnam Hashmi*  The Gujarat government must be held accountable for what appears to be a deeply disturbing instance of state-sponsored communal profiling. Ahmedabad resident Sahal Qureshi recently shared with me an official document , which I translated with the help of AI before forwarding it to several media organisations and political leaders. 

US civil society coalition slams Hudson Institute for hosting RSS leaders

By A Representative   The Hudson Institute ’s “New India Conference,” held on April 23, featured senior figures from India’s ruling political ecosystem, including RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and BJP foreign affairs head Vijay Chauthaiwale . The event also included U.S. officials and former diplomats such as Kurt Campbell, Kenneth Juster, and Nisha Biswal, alongside India’s Ambassador to the U.S., Vinay Kwatra.