‘Attack on Free Speech’: Abuse, Porn Disrupt Editors Guild Seminar

The Editors Guild, in a statement, informed that the disruptions began with some participants posting frivolous song videos within a few minutes of the beginning of the seminar.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/The Quint)

On the afternoon of Friday, 12 February, a webinar conducted by the Editors’ Guild of India on reporting challenges from Naxal areas was subjected to relentless cyber attacks and disruptions and therefore, had to be ended before any of the guests could even speak.

The Editors Guild, in a statement, informed that the disruptions began with some participants posting frivolous song videos within a few minutes of the beginning of the seminar.

“The meeting host tried shutting down the window of each such guest, but the number of such disruptors kept on increasing. Soon, some of them started posting obscene messages on group chat and shared screens with pornographic content and abusive language. Eventually, the meeting had to be ended without even one of the guest speakers getting a chance to speak.”   

Editors Guild of India

The seminar was scheduled for 3 pm on 12 February and the speakers included Malini Subramaniam, PV Kondal Rao, Milind Umare, Tameshwar Sinha, Faisal Anurag, and Purnima Tripathi.

The Guild, in their statement, said that they are “shocked and disturbed by this unprecedented attack by those who clearly did not want the speakers’ voices to be heard.”

Further, the Guild said:

“Naxal-infested areas have been subjected to some of the most horrifying and gruesome instances of state excesses. The webinar speakers have been at the forefront of chronicling the conflict and the human rights abuses over the last few decades.”   

The statement informs that the Editors Guild views this attack as “a blatant attack on freedom of speech.” The Guild has further demanded that the Cyber Crime Cell investigates this attack and books the guilty.