On Saturday, Twitter removed a video uploaded by Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to 'Janata Curfew'. The microblogging website removed Tamil Superstar's video after it found factual discrepancies in his post about the cycle of infection of COVID-19.
After Rajnikanth's video was removed, #ShameonTwitterIndia started trending on Twitter. In a video message supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for an 14-hour 'Janata Curfew' on Sunday, Rajinikanth said staying indoors during the curfew period will break the coronavirus chain, which he claimed had a survival life of only 12 to 14 hours on any surface. The statement violated Twitter’s rules on misinformation.
According to scientists, the coronavirus can remain on a surface for days. The scientists have also found out that a person can contract infection by touching a surface or object with the virus on it.
After the video message was removed, fans of Rajnikanth took to Twitter to express their anger against the microblogging website. One user said, "Shame on you. How dare u can remove the tweet? He is a legend in India." While other user said, "Please review your decision @Twitter. Is it your system flaw? A good social message is removed because of wrong reporting..."
Here's what Twitter had to say:
On Saturday, Rajinikanth backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for 'Janta Curfew'. Tamil Superstar appealed to people to stay indoors. In a video message, the 69-year-old actor said that India is approaching stage 3 and if people follow the Janata Curfew for 14 hours, it could stop the spread of coronavirus from stage 2 to stage 3.
"We can prevent the virus entering third stage if people stay indoors and for that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced Janta Curfew on March 22," Rajinikanth said in a video message. The actor also praised medical professionals, saying they were working selflessly to prevent the spread of the virus and "as per the words of Prime Minister let us join to appreciate them and pray for their well-being at 5 pm on March 22."
