PML-N’s – ‘Like’ my Facebook page News Item [DELETED]

Its hilarious at how PML-N is running confused on so many fronts, politically confused as to which side of the government does it want to be, sometimes it screams of protests from the side of Opposition, but the very next day it flips over and goes soft, in the online arena the abundant social media employed to counter the PTI Tsunami online also behaves like a headless behemoth, full of daily propaganda with no soul.

Today (6th June, 2012) Express Tribune printed a story on Page 2 – ‘Like’ my Facebook page, Shahbaz tells officials [404-DEAD LINK] which narrated a story as to how the Chief Minister has been asking Punjab govt employees to like his page & “remove PTI-related material from their Facebook accounts and not ‘like’ any PTI page”

PTI supporters started making funny jabs at how the Chief Minister was trying to rally Patwaris in the Punjab Govt to build “likes” for Shahbaz Sharif’s “political” page. In a very surprising development a few hours later Express Tribune deleted the article from their website. No explanation given, just a simple delete, was it under political pressure? Was the story misreported? We can only wonder what happened?

There is absolutely no crime in promoting your facebook page, social media experts world over do it all the time, so why a sudden embarrassed push to delete the story, so whatever the reason something did definitely bother PML-N and its supporters to force Express Tribune to pull the entire article from the website

So for whatever it is worth, I think its important to retain the contents for digital posterity, occasionally to rub the embarrassed PML-N noses to a shine for this gaff or for preserve this to question Express Tribune’s political bias for succumbing to political pressure and

LAHORE: Internet-savvy Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is determined to counter Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s ‘party for the youth’ image – and he’ll do whatever it takes.

Top district officials and policemen in all 36 districts of the province, as well as regional police officers and commissioners have been asked to join Shahbaz’s official Facebook page to boost his popularity, sources told The Express Tribune.

In addition, the chief minister has let all top officials know that they are to remove PTI-related material from their Facebook accounts and not ‘like’ any PTI page.

His efforts have not always been successful. In the last week of May, the Punjab government issued a letter, sent to all officers, requesting them to join Shahbaz’s official webpage and to train themselves in social media networking.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2012.

Credits: @Fawaz_Qamar & PakPeace