A petition on Change.org has been kicked off by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s parody account on Twitter by the username ‘RoflGandhi_’ with a view to uninstall WhatsApp from the phones of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and Indian billionaire businessman Anand Mahindra.
The petition states, “A megastar and a renowned industrialist are falling prey to fake news & bizarre content being fed to them via Whatsapp. We need to restore the dignity of two gentlemen. Through this petition we are requesting Mark Zuckerberg to disable Whatsapp on their numbers.”
The initiative has turned into a top Twitter trend.
The petition comes after a series of fake news, misinformation and insensitive forwards shared by the two senior most personalities. On Sunday, Anand faced backlash after an 'insensitive' tweet about masks amit the coronavirus lockdown.
The 64-year-old hoped that an image of a mother and toddler wearing masks made out of leaves would become the most iconic image during the pandemic.
The tweet, which was later deleted by Mahindra, read: "Don't know who took this and the location but i hope this photo becomes one of the most iconic images and memories of the pandemic. It's not just about #MaskIndia but also about a greener world. A reminder that nature already provides us with all that we need."
Comedian Aditi Mittal pointed out that wearing masks made out of leaves is not something which should be celebrated. "Anand, this is NOTHING to be celebrated. There is NO EVIDENCE that wearing a leaf provides ANY kind of protection. They are not doing this environmental awareness, they are doing this because govs who were supposed to provide them this life saving mask have forsaken them," Mittal wrote.
Mahindra then accepted his mistake and apologized for his insensitive tweet. "You’re right, I can see how my tweet appeared insensitive to the inequity of the situation. I’ve deleted it," Mahindra tweeted.
Earlier Amitabh Bachchan also faced flak on the micro blogging platform for quoting misinformation that sound vibrations and clapping can ward of coronavirus. Not to mention his not so funny tweets about bats entering his house, also are among several reasons for him being tagged in this petition along with Mahindra.
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