Even as Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg vowed to ‘step up’ to fix the data privacy issues faced by the social networking giant following the revelation that British data consulting firm Cambridge Analytics created psychological profiles, which may have been used to influence electoral politics, conspiracy theories have started floating around, the best of which is that the entire Cambridge Analytica data breach allegations are created to ‘divert attention’.
Abusive troll masquerading as journalist Swati Chaturvedi, who is known for spreading lies and bigotry, was quick to blame a headline that pointing out the fact that Congress at one point reportedly hired Cambridge Analytics is a tactic to divert topic by the BJP.
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/976722414364184581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
She is an old hand at floating conspiracy theories that certain things are done by Modi only to divert the topic on hand. She even blamed ED raids on former union minister P. Chidambaram in a corruption case as ‘diversion tactic’ by the BJP.
https://twitter.com/bainjal/status/952050516510507008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
She’s not the only one who thinks so. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, too, thinks the news is a ‘diversion’. Except, in his case, he thinks the news is a diversion tactic from the 39 Indians killed in Mosul by ISIS.
https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/976680979199819776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Congress’ official Twitter handle, too, put up a poll which even goes a step further by giving 4 options to choose from.
https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/976687581885681666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This is not the first time the Congress has floated theories about topic diversion.
https://twitter.com/INCIndia/status/575577675932286976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Interestingly, Congress is not the only party to blame ‘topic diversion’ when they find themselves in a soup.
Way back in 2012, the foresighted leader Arvind Kejriwal had raised such doubts.
https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/259838141123399680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Kejriwal also tried to blame his inefficiency to on ‘evil forces’.
https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/561031084930916354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Many others have also followed suit.
Like how JNU protestor Shehla Rashid, who’d rather let an injured child bleed than clear up the traffic jam created by protestors, also thought bullet train was brought in to divert topic from journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder.
https://twitter.com/Shehla_Rashid/status/908399725082140672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
She also thought Modi government brought in demonetisation to divert attention from a missing student from JNU.
https://twitter.com/Shehla_Rashid/status/903111960178262017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Makes one wonder what all diversion tactic they practised all these years they were in power and controlled the narrative.