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Royal Family to block, report social media trolls
London, March 5 (IANS) The Royal Family has published social media guidelines for the public, vowing to block users who leave offensive or abusive comments on official channels.
Posts on the Clarence House, Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace feeds may be hidden, deleted or reported to police, the new rules said, the BBC reported on Monday.
It follows reports that staff have been battling a surge in abuse aimed at the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex.
Neither of the duchesses have personal social media accounts.
Meghan closed down hers last year, before marrying Prince Harry.
In December 2017, shortly after her engagement, she had 1.9 million people following her posts on Instagram, and more than 350,000 Twitter followers. Her Facebook page had almost 800,000 likes.
Some of the worst, hate-filled personal abuse directed at the Royal Family’s various social media accounts is said to come from rival fans of Kate and Meghan.
The new rules call for comments not to “contain spam, be defamatory of any person, deceive others, be obscene, offensive, threatening, abusive, hateful, inflammatory or promote sexually explicit material or violence”, or “promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age”.
The Royal Family said the guidelines were introduced to maintain “a safe environment” on channels run by the three households, and called for users to show “courtesy, kindness and respect”.
The statement adds: “We reserve the right to hide or delete comments made on our channels, as well as block users who do not follow these guidelines. We also reserve the right to send any comments we deem appropriate to law enforcement authorities.”
The official Twitter account of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their Royal Foundation, has almost 1.7 million followers, while their Instagram account boasts 7.1 million.
The Royal Family has 3.8 million followers on Twitter, 4.5 million on Instagram, and its Facebook page has 4.8 million likes, while Clarence House has 812,000 followers on Twitter and 624,000 on Instagram.
The Duke of Cambridge has been a prominent campaigner against cyber-bullying, and has previously accused social media giants of being “on the back foot” when it comes to fighting issues like online bullying, fake news and hate speech.
In 2017, he convened a new industry-led taskforce to develop a shared response to the online bullying of young people.
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.