I have heard about people who fancy yellow press. Today some people use social media, including Facebook and WhatsApp, in the same sub-standard manner.
The standard of using Facebook in Kerala is such that even its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, will hang his head in shame. Anything can be said about any person, and any photo that shows a person in bad light can be posted online. There is no one to question such behaviour.
Such atrocities are done on social media at a time when the cyber sector is said to be booming. Mostly, the attacks are against people who are well known in any field, especially cinema. I am a victim of this.
After newspapers reported about my divorce, repulsive comments were posted on Facebook.
Who gave these people the right to say anything about another individual’s personal matters? Someone has opened a fake account of Manju Warrier on Facebook and made insinuations.
When such comments were posted about me on Facebook, I filed a complaint.
Law states that if a person makes vulgar or derogatory remarks about another individual through social media, that person can be put in jail for three years. Many people repeat offences without knowing that they are punishable. Hence, it is necessary to create awareness.
There is another story about me on Facebook. One woman is talking about her old love affair to a friend. The conversation is recorded and posted on Facebook and WhatsApp.
Names of some people working in the film industry are mentioned in that conversation. Those who heard it assumed that the woman was me, and they posted it again. Thus it is propagated as "Bhagyalakshmi’s love story".
The eagerness to propagate bad things is a kind of mental disease, and it is spreading very fast in Kerala. All those who know me well know that that woman was not me. Even if I am that woman, why should it matter to others? These mental patients must be given good treatment. For that, the first step is to create awareness that the offence is punishable.
Many people have lost their lives to vulgar campaigns on social media. Unable to speak out, many families are considering suicide. Celebrities have the courage and the influence to file cases. But ordinary women, children and parents lack the courage to do anything and lose to these mental patients.
A police officer who posted a bad comment about Manju Warrier has been suspended. But that is only departmental action. Legally, he has committed a crime. If a person who should uphold law misuses it, then that person must be dismissed from job and given punishment as per law.
When people post bad comments about me, I give the reply that I will take the screenshot of the comment and complain to police. This threat deters such people. Such mental flaws spread widely because women do not react to them courageously. Here there are rules for everything. If you are unwilling to act alone, approach organisations or social workers. They will react on your behalf.
(The writer is a well-known dubbing artiste)
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