Online abuse on microblogging site Twitter saw an interesting development when Swati Chaturvedi, a Twitter user with handle @bainjal decided to file an FIR against an anonymous Twitter user with handle @lutyensinsider.
The anonymous user had tweeted some derogatory and salacious stuff against Swati on more than one occasion, against which she decided to act.
Although @lutyensinsider claimed to be a working journalist leaking “inside” gossips about media, and many of his tweets were indeed such, his tweets about Swati were defamatory.
The handle claimed that Swati used to stalk Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for physical relationship.
This earned @lutyensinsider an FIR for stalking, defamation, and outraging the modesty of a woman.
Within hours of FIR being filed, the user deleted all his tweets and changed his username, which led to many celebrity journalists praising Swati for teaching a lesson to a troll.
Swati, who is reported to have been a journalist before she took to Twitter to express her opinions viciously, also wrote an article about online harassment and abusive language that is often witnessed on Twitter.
While her complaint about harassment is valid and her decision to counter a slanderous tweet is courageous, her grouse with abusive language is hypocritical.
Swati has been a serial offender when it comes to using abusive language, many times against women without provocation.
Following are some indicative tweets that show contribution of Swati towards foul mouthed discourse on Twitter and why she should desist from taking moral high ground on that count:
Abusing a woman without provocation:
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/512998519590752256
Calling another woman journalist economist a “troll vahini”:
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/567656525259218946
While being a “troll vahini” herself by ganging up with other anonymous abusive trolls:
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/544150069297958913
Her choice of words while coming up with an opinion:
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/512936373787967488
More colourful choice of words:
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/514452295619448833
Swati abusing a senior journalist and author:
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/552849224547581953
And finally, abusing OpIndia.com:
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/560074719836110848
We want to reiterate that the fact that Swati is a foul mouthed Twitter user doesn’t justify any defamatory comments against her, and filing an FIR was her legal right. The fact that @lutyensinsider deleted tweets also hints that the tweets were indeed false and defamatory.
But it is hilarious and hypocritical when Swati talks about abusive language on Twitter. Maybe in future she will justify the halo that some journalists are putting around her for her FIR. She has kicked out a slanderous account, and hopefully she will kick out foul vocabulary that she liberally uses.
If we ignore the vicious and abusive language that Swati has often used, she indeed has taken a courageous step and many women should do the same. This should especially encourage “Right-Wing” women, who are often subjected to abuse and slander on Twitter; and tragically, attack on them is often cheered by the same group that is currently applauding Swati.
For example, A leading magazine called BJP supporting women as “hate hags” and then the same journalists didn’t object to the language or implied slander. Recently Union Minister Smriti Irani too was subjected to salacious and defamatory comments in a public TV show. A few more such FIRs could help in curbing abusive behaviour.