Washington: (Washington) It is reported that an American journalist who asked a question to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a joint press conference with US President Biden (President Biden) last week is being harassed on social media (Social Media). The White House has condemned such harassment as completely unacceptable.
- A journalist who questioned Modi on minority rights was reportedly being harassed online
- The female journalist asked what steps her government would take to improve the rights situation of minorities in India and to uphold freedom of expression.
- Wall Street Journal reporter Sabrina Siddiqui received disturbing messages on social media
- The White House strongly condemned such harassment of the journalist
Last week, Wall Street Journal journalist Sabrina Siddiqui questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the rights of minorities in India and asked what steps his government would take to improve the status of these rights and ensure freedom of expression. A day after this press conference, the journalist faced online abuse. Some considered his question to be purposeful and called him a Pakistani Islamist.
Sabrina wrote on Twitter that some people were asking about my personal background. Sometimes one’s identity is more complicated than it seems, he wrote. Along with his tweet, he also posted a photo of himself with his father wearing the Indian cricket team jersey from April 2011 when India won the Cricket World Cup.
The White House has issued a statement condemning the harassment of this journalist. It said that we are aware of the reports of harassment and we absolutely condemn harassment of any journalist under any circumstances. It is completely unacceptable. And what was seen last week is against the principles of democracy, said John Kirby, coordinator of the White House National Security Council. Meanwhile, South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) has also declared its support to Sabrina Siddiqui.