Self-styled religious guru Asaram Bapu’s followers have a new hashtag with which to attack the media. Using #NewsTraders, the godman’s followers tweeted about “trespassing the territory of judges”, and conducting “media trials”. If you were wondering which new article on Asaram you’ve missed, don’t worry. There hasn’t been one. Asaram’s followers mostly tweeted a picture of an old correction published by The Times of India, which apologised for using the word “rapist” to describe Asaram in the headline of a report published on August 3, 2015.
This is not the first time Asaram’s followers have turned to Twitter to drum up support for their guru. Previously, they’ve made #WhyBapujiTargeted, #iSupportAsaramBapu, #MisuseOfRapeLaw, and #WeUrgeBailForBapuji trend.