Twitterati demand #NoidaFilmCityExcavation; users respond to a media outlet's insensitive reporting of Ayodhya case

On Thursday, Twitter woke up to of a strange hashtag  #NoidaFilmCityExcavation  that took over the social media site. Upon having a closer look, what started as a joke soon made headlines on twitter with the trend being the top trend for users in India.

In light of the advisory warning issued by  News Broadcasting Standards Authority to media publications about reporting responsibly on the politically sensitive Ayodhya case, news channel Aaj Tak put out this tweet:

देखिये #DeshTak आज शाम 7 बजे! pic.twitter.com/pmFU2AzF7M

— AajTak (@aajtak) October 15, 2019

Twitterati took notice of this particular tweet and took off to slam its sensationalised headline, accusing it of provoking communal sentiments.  Parody account @RoflGandhi_ saw this as a playground to turn it into a viral meme and coined the hashtag while tweeting out an elaborate explanation for why people should demand the excavation of Noida Film City.

रोहतक यूनिवर्सिटी में प्रोफेसर बलवान दहिया जी हिंदू अध्यात्म के रिसर्चर हैं। हनुमानजी पर गहरा अध्ययन किया है। उनकी रिसर्च है कि जब हनुमानजी संजीवनी लेकर लौट रहे थे तो उनकी गदा पर लगा एक मनका नीचे गिर गया था। हजारों साल बीत गये। नौवीं सदी में वो मनका एक गरीब कृपाराम को मिला।(1/न)

— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 🏹 (@RoflGandhi_) October 17, 2019

आज नहीं तो कल देश की जनता इसका जवाब जरूर मांगेगी। आस्था के ऊपर कुछ नहीं, न्यूज स्टूडियो तो बिल्कुल नहीं। 🙏🙏 #NoidaFilmCityExcavation

— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 🏹 (@RoflGandhi_) October 17, 2019

Long story short, the parody account basically spoke about a Hanuman temple that is situated somewhere under Noida’s Film City, a location where incidentally most media outlets are based out of, that needs to be excavated to correct a ‘historical injustice’. The post also spoke about how Professor Dahiya of Rohtak University wished that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would dig it out to help correct this ‘injustice’ by exploring the Bajrangi temple of Navodaya city as he is already correcting other mistakes made by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Many users took on to this hashtag, coming up with more precise explanations about the set forth theory, explaining how the exact area of the excavation site that needs to be carried out is by pure coincidence, the exact location of the office in Film City.

pic.twitter.com/uzVTPHyIXJ

— Kapil (@kapsology) October 17, 2019

Soon, this hashtag was showing up on everyone’s timeline, until it became one of the top trends of the day.

Can’t believe this #NoidaFilmCityExcavation is trending. बस करो भई @RoflGandhi_ . मंदिर निर्माण के लिए फ़िल्म सिटी वासियों ने कमर कस ली है। मंदिर बन कर रहेगा। https://t.co/mJ4Yh0gFHo

— Vinod Kapri (@vinodkapri) October 17, 2019

Yogi extends his support for #NoidaFilmCityExcavation and Hanumanji ka Manka. @RoflGandhi_ pic.twitter.com/XgWsbKcTEV

— Saral Patel (@SaralPatel) October 17, 2019

#NoidaFilmCityExcavation is no joke.

It's the strong sentiment of Crores of Hindus.

Rumors are going around that BJP is silent on our demand because Hanumanji was a Dalit. Let me make it clear: Anyone who has a problem with our demand is by default Anti-Hindu and Anti-National.

— Dhruv Rathee (@dhruv_rathee) October 17, 2019

Noida to jhanki hai Lower Parel baaki hai#NoidaFilmCityExcavation

— Scotchy(Team) (@scotchism) October 17, 2019

NASA ne Satelite thermal imaging se iss baat ko prove bhi kiya hai pic.twitter.com/QdPXphyenq

— Kapil (@kapsology) October 17, 2019

Some people even took it a step further by creating a Facebook event even to gather people to ‘Party at Noida film city for Hanuman ji ka Manka’.