Nuh Violence: Hindu-Muslim riots rattled even social media, hashtags spiked to 3 billion

The communal violence that recently broke out in Haryana’s Nuh on July 31 during a religious procession has drawn a massive impact on social media and online platforms. According to media reports, the comprehensive analysis was conducted by the government in the initial 72 hours following the outbreak of violence. As the unrest extended to areas like Mewat, Badshahpur, and Gurugram, numerous Twitter hashtags such as #NuhViolence, #MewatTerrorAttack, and #Haryanaviolence gained prominence. These hashtags collectively reached a potential audience exceeding 3 billion (300 crore) within the digital realm, often carrying negative sentiments amounting to over 67 per cent. The report further divulged those individuals within the age bracket of 25-34 exhibited the highest level of activity on Twitter, actively disseminating content related to the incident. Interestingly, the analysis also identified the involvement of certain anti-national elements leveraging audio/video messages on Twitter and other social media platforms to incite the public. Intriguingly, while most impactful content originated from within India, the highest-engagement tweet within the initial 72 hours hailed from Canada. Notably, countries such as the US, UK, Canada, and Pakistan registered substantial tweet volumes. Despite this, India contributed to approximately 86% of the impact and origin of these hashtags, while other countries shared content ranging from 8 to 3 per cent. The reports also said that a detailed report will be prepared in the coming days to understand the impact and conspiracy, if any, in the Nuh incident. The government on the basis of findings of the analysis, has initiated measures to counter the proliferation of misleading and instigating content on a particular social media platform, citing inaccuracies and potential for violence incitement. The analysis prompted official intervention to address this concerning trend, as the government sought the removal of select tweets that were either factually incorrect, misleading, or provocatively inciting violence. Notably, among these flagged tweets were one by a sitting Member of Parliament, a global news media outlet, and a cluster of social media influencers who were found to be propagating content against the two conflicting groups. In tandem with this action, the government also directed specific social media applications and platforms to block certain user accounts that exhibited a consistent pattern of disseminating content that fueled violence. Furthermore, a separate report compiled by a central agency shed light on the underlying causes of the violence in Nuh. According to this report, the clash was triggered by the posting of videos on social media by two distinct groups. These videos, laden with contentious content, reportedly involved members from both groups instigating and threatening each other.