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Govt blocks 245 web pages for carrying morphed images of violence
New Delhi: The government has ordered blocking of around 245 web pages for carrying morphed images and videos, purportedly of communal violence in Assam.
The images and videos on these websites – most of which the government claims originated from Pakistan – have been blamed for incitement of Muslims and the resultant mass exodus of people who are natives of the north-eastern states from New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune back home.
The images and videos were morphed with some of them originally from earthquake affected sites in China. Morphing is a process that morphs (or changes) one image into another.
This is the first time India has faced cyber warfare on such a scale and the government is also considering taking up the findings of CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team-India) at the international forum.
On the recommendation of Home Ministry issued under section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000, 76 web pages were blocked on 18 August, 80 web pages on 19 August and 89 web pages on Monday. These intermediaries and international social networking sites were also requested to provide registration details and access logs of the persons who uploaded such content.
India has conveyed its concerns to Pakistan and has been assured the matter will be looked into if evidence if provided.
The objectionable content was first posted on 13 July and fake profiles were created for spreading morphed pictures, according to a Home Ministry report, prepared in the wake of the mass exodus following rumours about a possible attack on them.
Considering the sensitivity and after effects of such inflammatory and harmful content hosted on social networking sites, the Department of Electronics & Information Technology had issued an advisory on 17 August 2012 to all the intermediaries including national and international social networking sites, advising them to take necessary action to disable such inflammatory and hateful content hosted on their websites on priority basis.
The department also called a meeting of the representatives of international social networking sites based in India and advised them to take all possible action to disable such content immediately.
The initial response from international social networking sites indicates that such content has been hosted from outside the country and to a large extent from the neighboring country.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
