Twitter Toolkit Explained: What Is Twitter Toolkit? Why Is It Attracting So Much Attention?

| Published: Friday, February 12, 2021, 9:22 [IST]

Twitter has caught itself in the eye of the storm in Indian politics. It all started when American pop singer Rihanna and teen climate activist Greta Thunberg voiced their support for farmer's protest via Twitter. Particularly, Thunberg posted a Twitter Toolkit that led to an FIR filing by the Delhi Police. To understand the events better, let's first hear everything about the Twitter Toolkit.

What Is Twitter Toolkit?

Let's start with the basics. We're aware that Twitter is one of the leading social media platforms and is often used for several official statements by multinational firms, governments, leaders, and so on. Twitter Toolkit, in particular, is a quick and easy way to provide support for legislation and engage with lawmakers.

The Twitter Toolkit can be used to promote, discuss, protest, or just voice your opinion about any new law or legislation. Like regular tweets, users will have to mention or tag the particular government or the ministry with ‘@' and use hashtags for the legislation or law. This would further pile up all the opinions regarding the particular law.

Greta Thunberg’s Twitter Toolkit Explained

The issue goes back to February 3, when Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg took to Twitter to share a CNN article that spoke about the internet ban around Delhi borders, precisely where farmers were protesting against the new farm laws. The tweet also included a caption, "We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India". To note, pop singer Rihanna had shared the same article on Twitter and supports the Indian farmer's protest.

Soon after, the Indian government and several officials backlashed Thunberg and Rihanna's tweets. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs also responded via a tweet criticizing the growing mobilization of international support against India. "Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken," the statement said.

Right after this, the Delhi Police Cyber Cell issued an FIR against Thunberg for the Toolkit shared in her tweet. On hearing the FIR, Thunberg updated her Twitter post with a new Twitter Toolkit. "Here's an updated toolkit by people on the ground in India if you want help. (They removed the previous document as it was outdated.)," her updated tweet said. Even with the clarification, debate on the international response to the farmer's protest is still underway.