The cold-blooded murder of 55-year-old senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was seen as a vocal opponent of communal politics, has been widely condemned by all sections of society who see the killing as a warning to all free-thinkers.
Soon after her murder, a war of words erupted on social media and escalated to the extent of making a hashtag urging people to block Prime Minister Naredra Modi trending on Twitter.
Many Twitter users have decided to block the PM as angered by reports that some of the users who have been cheering Lankesh's death are followed by Modi (personal account). The hashtag: #BlockNarendraModi is now treading on the social networking site.
Trends are determined by an algorithm and, by default, are tailored for you based on who you follow, your interests, and your location. The number of Tweets that are related to the trends is just one of the factors the algorithm looks at when ranking and determining trends, says Twitter.
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Nikhil Dadhich, who claims to be a garment manufacturer on his Twitter profile and is followed by Modi, wasted no time in posting a tweet shortly after the Tuesday night murder, saying: "Ek kuttiya kutte ki maut kya mari, saare pille ek sur mein bilbila rahe hain."
Here is what people, including politicians, are commenting on the hashtag:
Gauri, known for her left-leaning outlook and forthright views on Hindutva politics, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at her residence in Bengaluru. She took more than one bullet and died instantaneously.
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Of the 30,000 tweets at the time of publishing the story, some were of the view blocking isn't the right way.
On Wednesday, journalists and activists in many places, including Delhi, warned against treating her killing as an isolated incident.The murder of the editor of Kannada publication 'Gauri Lankesh Patrike' should be seen in the context of a climate of "hate and intolerance" in the country, speaker after speaker said at a condolence meeting attended by hundreds at the Press Club of India in Delhi.
