IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar noticed the wrong card almost immediately. (File)
New Delhi:
Union IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had a subtle warning for WhatsApp today when the messaging platform posted a graphic on its Twitter handle showing a fake map of India. It later deleted that tweet and apologized.
The map highlighting India on the globe had excluded Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and some Indian territories claimed by China.
In a “request” to WhatsApp to correct it, the minister said in a quote tweet: “All platforms doing business in India and/or wanting to continue doing business in India must use correct maps.”
Screenshot of Minister’s tweet citing WhatsApp’s graphic with a fake card. WhatsApp later deleted his tweet.
Mr Chandrasekhar tagged Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp alongside other platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
It was within hours of WhatsApp sending out the tweet – the release of its cross-site livestream for New Year’s Eve – when the minister noticed and addressed Meta around 4pm.
WhatsApp then deleted and tweeted: “Thank you Minister for pointing out the unintentional error; we removed the stream immediately, sorry. We will pay attention to that in the future.”
Mr Chandrasekhar had also warned video call company Zoom founder Eric Yuan earlier this week over a fake map of India. “Perhaps you should make sure you use correct maps of the countries you do/intend to do business in,” the minister tweeted on December 28. Eric Yuan also later deleted the tweet with the card.
In June 2021, Twitter was heavily criticized as a platform for displaying a distorted map of India and was removed after online backlash.
Misrepresentation of Indian territory can lead to a police trial, and the law also provides for jail time.
India has also previously expressed dissatisfaction with companies and other bodies, even the World Health Organization, over the use of false maps, particularly those depicting Kashmir.
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