Spamming people on Twitter is a big no-no and you’d think that a major Indian political party would know that.
As Buzzfeed’s Tasneem Nashrulla points out, “If you tweeted the words “BJP,” “Narendra Modi,” “NaMO” or any variations of these words on Wednesday, April 16, chances are you were spammed by the BJP’s official Twitter account.”
A tweet from The Aerogram was among those the @BJP account replied to, and we have to admit that we were all a bit taken aback when the party decided to reply to a tweet about the 2002 Gujarat riots with a friendly push to get out the vote. The entire exchange is below.
The woman calling for Narendra Modi to take responsibility for mass murder via @Telegraph http://t.co/BZSiNMEZFM
— The Aerogram (@theaerogram) April 16, 2014
@theaerogram 5 phases still to go. No need to be complacent. Make sure you vote. #ModiNeedsEveryVote https://t.co/D2wqF22qTq
— BJP (@BJP4India) April 16, 2014
As our contributor Aby Sam Thomas tweeted, “LOL. Automated social media responses fail.”
(If you haven’t seen it yet, that Telegraph piece is worth a read. Some of the details are absolutely chilling.)
We’re assuming that the huge Twitter push from the BJP is due to the fact that today is one of the biggest days of the Indian election season– as 121 constituencies across 12 states and union territories head to the polls. States voting today include Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
As for the future of the BJP’s Twitter account, that’s anyone’s guess. Zack Beauchamp of Vox points out that all of that spamming may get the party banned from Twitter for violating the company’s terms of service.
Lakshmi Gandhi is an editor at The Aerogram. Follow her on Twitter @LakshmiGandhi
