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'They’re just jokes' say Indian comedians under investigation

YouTube comedians in India have defended themselves after authorities said they would launch a probe into whether their humour was "abusive."

What is it okay to say in Indian culture? That question is at the heart of a social media confrontation gripping India. On one side, AIB, a group of young performers who describe themselves as "India's edgiest comedy collective." On the other, conservative Hindu groups who have complained to the Maharashtra State Government.

AIB has around 900,000 YouTube subscribers for its videos which send up various aspects of Indian culture and politics. Their growing following means we have featured them before on this blog - with this alternative take on India's election, for example. Their latest venture was a three-part series called the "AIB Knockout." They brought a roster of top Bollywood stars in front of an audience and "roasted" them - in other words, taunted them with highly personal jokes and insults, including graphic references to the stars' sex lives. It's a format familiar in the West, but it seemed sure to shock in conservative India.

And shock it did. The video not only got 8m views, it attracted complaints for its "vulgar" humour with sexual references, and for being against Indian values. In Maharashtra, the state where Mumbai is located, a local Hindu nationalist party called AIB's language "abusive and filthy." The hashtag #AIBNationalShame began to trend, with comments such as "Hilarious !!?? Really ?? Is vulgarity n abusive language necessary for charity ?! Or to show how open we r !!" and "Bollywood showed one thing today that Bollywood will remain a gutter!" The state's Department of Culture said it would investigate the "vulgarity," although the relevant Minister later tweeted that they weren't allowed to do "moral policing" and could only check if the comedians had a licence.

The main film industry union, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees also waded into the dispute, and demanded apologies from the actors that participated in the video.

In light of the complaints, the comedians themselves decided to take drastic action - and took the video down from YouTube. Although they are not granting media interviews, AIB posted a long response online which makes clear that for them, this is a struggle over Indian culture and free speech.

"Over the last few days, we've found ourselves subject to more scrutiny, judgment and opinion than we're worth," they wrote. "This Knockout shouldn't matter. In a secure culture it wouldn't matter."

They make clear that there were age and content warnings on the video. "To everyone who's called us seditious pornographers while plotting the downfall of Indian Values And Civilization As We Know It, we would like to reiterate that we are just a bunch of comedians who work, and have always worked, without any malicious intent whatsoever," they said. However they didn't go into detail about why they took the video down.

On social media, there has been a rally of support for the comedians under the term "We Stand By AIB Knockout." More than 25,000 people have signed an online petition in defence of the group.

"The real issue here is not about some celebs made some jokes & some people got offended. It is about moral policing.. We Stand By AIB Knockout," wrote one tweeter. There has also been a new video in response posted by Indian YouTubers The Viral Fever, which has been trending all day under the hashtag #NoCountryForFunnyMen.

AIB has 900,000 YouTube subscribers

The video was watched 8m times before being removed

Prominent Indian tweeter @GabbbarSingh has been commenting on the issue on his Twitter feed, and he told BBC Trending that the removal of the video was a "pragmatic move."

"When there is a backlash from people who sound like they have a lot of free time and muscle power, it's natural to care about their own security and their loved ones. Had I been in AIB's shoes, I would have probably taken a similar step," he said.

Leading Bollywood actresses Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha and Alia Bhatt came under fire for attending the event. One tweet read "#DeepikaPadukone Could u explain AIB show. It is so sad that role models of millions were participated in it."

Blog by Mukul Devichand and Ravin Sampat

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Arrested for tweeting: Your reactions #FreeSpeechStories

Last week we heard the story of Kenyan blogger Abraham Mutai, part of our #FreeSpeechStories series. Mutai was arrested for tweeting about his latest investigation into what he says is government corruption. A campaign to #FreeMutai trended on Twitter and the discussion continued days after his release. Lots of you also got in touch with us directly.

While we were interviewing Mutai for our radio programme (which you can hear here) we received plenty of questions for him via our Twitter page. "Are you a journalist or a paid blogger?" asked Twitter user Mr Keep, who describes himself as a social media analyst.

For the record, Mutai had this to say: "I'm not a trained journalist, but you don't have to be a trained journalist to be a blogger."

Others wanted to know what Mutai's next move would be with questions like: "do you feel safe and able to continue exposing corruption?"

The full interview is really worth a listen - the story starts about 11 minutes into our weekly radio programme.

In keeping with the campaign to #FreeMutai, Twitter users were overwhelmingly supportive of the blogger. We got quite a few emotional tweets from those who were sorry to hear him say he was now living in fear. "This frightens me, as well. My thoughts are with @ItsMutai and other freedom of speech bloggers" said one. "Kenya is sinking lower and lower on free speech. #FreeSpeechStories. I'm disappointed that Mutai is now afraid," said another.

During our coverage of Mutai's case we noticed several tweets criticizing the Kenyan government. Many alluded to controversial new security laws and said they were curbing free speech - although the government says the new laws are necessary to fight terrorism. People also shared their experiences of censorship from other parts of the world including Latin America and Canada.

Blog by Anne-Marie Tomchak

Next story: Why was one death singled out in Egypt?

We want to hear your free speech stories no matter where in the world you are. Have one? Get in touch with us using the hashtag #FreeSpeechStories.

Watch videos on our YouTube channel or follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending.

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

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#FreeSpeechStories: Why was one death singled out in Egypt?

Updated 28 Jan to clarify timeline of deaths over the weekend.

Does the death of Shaimaa al-Sabbagh - whose story has captivated social media - mark a change in Egyptian attitudes towards protesters?

Back in 2011, protestors, who succeeded in toppling the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak, were hailed as heroes.

But in more recent times, derision towards the Muslim Brotherhood has led to support for the government's suppression of street gatherings. So when 18 people were killed in recent clashes on the fourth anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, no one expected one protester's story to captivate social media quite as it has.

So why did the death of Shaimaa al-Sabbagh provoke a strong response?

One answer is the sequence of events on 24 January. It all started with this emotional tweet: "I don't know her, I couldn't save her, the girl died and her blood is on my clothes." Egyptian journalist Nancy Attia was in a state after a protester died in front of her.

The dead woman was soon identified as al-Sabbagh and within 12 hours her name had been mentioned more than 130,000 times on Twitter.

On Saturday, 32-year-old al-Sabbagh joined a protest in Cairo organized by the Socialist Popular Alliance party.

Photos show her standing by other members of the party chanting "bread, dignity, freedom" - the same slogan of the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Another photo to put on the site of those killed in Tahrir Square in 2011. But al-Sabbagh never made it to Tahrir - she was shot dead on the way to the square.

The Ministry of Interior issued a statement vowing it will bring al-Sabbaghh's killer to justice. But the government opponents are not convinced. They believe that it was the police that targeted her.

Al-Sabbagh was one of the first people to die during the weekend demonstrations. In total at least 17 others were also killed, and dozens were injured. Yet it was her story that dominated social media.

"Shaimaa's death was documented, the images and the footage were very powerful," Egyptian blogger Fatima Said told BBC Trending.

An emotional photo of al-Sabbagh being held by her grieving colleague right after being shot was one of the most shared images with her name.

Videos - some much too graphic to be shown on this blog - showing people rushing to take her to the hospital, with her face covered in blood, were uploaded onto YouTube and viewed by over a million people.

But the spread of news about her death is not just about a female victim whose death was caught on camera.

Fatima Said believes it also has something to do with her not being identified as a Muslim Brotherhood supporter, a group now demonized by a large segment of the population.

"People have become desensitized towards a certain group," Fatima says, "and because Shaimaa was clearly a liberal and a person the West can identify with ideologically, her story got picked up widely by English speakers on twitter and international media."

Just a day before al-Sabbagh's death a 17-year-old student was shot dead during clashes between Muslim Brotherhood protesters and residents in Alexandria. The protester was Sondos Abubakr, but her name did not trend.

"Shocking but not surprising," Said says. "We shouldn't discriminate in our coverage of death."

Blog by Mai Noman

More from BBC Trending - read the story of the Japanese social media fight against Islamic State.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending.

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

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#FreeSpeechStories: A family feud on the French far-right

We all have disagreements with our families, and fortunately most of them don't play out on social media. But a very public spat between a young right-wing MP and her aunt has gripped social media in France.

This isn't just any family - it's the Le Pen clan. They rule the far-right Front National (FN) party. Jean-Marie Le Pen was its founder and his daughter Marine Le Pen is the current leader.

The next generation is Marion Marechal Le Pen, who is Marine's niece and Jean-Marie's granddaughter. She was only 22 when she was voted into the French Parliament, making her the country's youngest MP in modern history.

But those three relatives don't all always agree with each other. Marion disobeyed her aunt's orders by sharing a controversial anti-Muslim video with her thousands of followers on Twitter.

The video was posted by Aymeric Chauprade, another FN politician. In it, he says among other things that France is at war with Islam and that the argument that there is a peaceful Muslim majority doesn't hold - as the majority of Germans were also peaceful before Adolf Hitler came to power there.

The video has been subject of a complaint by the anti-racism organisation, SOS Racisme. Marine Le Pen herself immediately distanced herself from Chauprade and asked party members not share it for legal reasons.

Not only did Marion Le Pen disobey her aunt, but Jean-Marie Le Pen - who once famously said that the Holocaust was a small detail of history and has been prosecuted several times for anti-Semitic remarks - followed suit, and posted the video on Twitter.

FN supporters were divided over the video on social media. Some hailed Chauprade for being brave: "Dear Marine," wrote one Twitter user, "Chauprade is the one who is right."

But others were critical of the video.

"#Chauprade is astonishingly stupid," tweeted one. "he picks up pub arguments that link Islam and Nazism."

Commentators in France have said the FN has struggled to hit the right note after the Paris attacks. Public support for the Charlie Hebdo victims has not translated into significantly greater support for Marine Le Pen, while the government has received a popularity boost, according to polls.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending.

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

BBC Trending radio

Hear the full story of the Le Pen family feud on this week's BBC Trending radio programme.

You can put us in your pocket and listen anytime by downloading our free podcast.

And we're on BBC World Service radio at 10:30 GMT on Saturdays: Trending on the BBC World Service

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#FreeSpeechStories: A 'Pegida makeover'

A spoof make-up tutorial has gone viral on YouTube after mocking the appearance of Pegida spokeswoman Kathrin Oertel.

The video shows a radio presenter pretending to shave off her eyebrows and tattoo new ones on - and slicking back her hair to mock Oertel's style.

The German organisation has been holding mass street rallies against what it calls the "anti-Islamisation" of Europe.

Large anti-Pegida demonstrations have been held across the country in protest.

Video by Andy Brownstone

Watch more videos on our YouTube channel or follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending.

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FreeSpeechStories: 'A message for the Taliban'

There's been more online condemnation from Pakistanis over the Taliban attack which killed over 130 school children last month.

A video posted on Facebook by two young film-makers shows ordinary people taking a stand against the terrorists.

"A Message to the Taliban" has been widely shared since it was posted earlier this week.

In a country where it is dangerous to confront extremism, the video features Pakistanis saying it is the Taliban who should be afraid.

Video by Andy Brownstone

Watch more videos on our YouTube channel or follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending.

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#FreeSpeechStories: Arrested for a tweet

Kenyans on Twitter, or KOT's as they're known, are asking whether the country is going through "dark days" after a blogger was arrested for tweeting.

"I posted a blog about mismanagement of funds in Isiolo County in eastern Kenya and shared it on Twitter," Abraham Mutai told BBC Trending. "Within hours my blog was taken down and my Twitter page was deactivated."

Mutai was arrested on Saturday afternoon in Mombasa, where he's based, and taken to the capital Nairobi. He was charged with "using a media platform to cause public anxiety."

He was released a day later and his blog and Twitter account were reinstated. He says the allegations he made about Isiolo County are now being followed up by authorities and he believes the 25,000 tweets under the hashtag #FreeMutai hastened his release.

"If we as bloggers don't take a stand right now, we may all suffer the same fate in the near future #FreeMutai," wrote Xtian Dela to his 400,000 followers. "If you remain quiet about Mutai, who will speak when they come for you?" asked Kenyan entrepreneur Francis Waithaka.

Despite the support, the experience had a chilling impact on how free Mutai feels to continue his work.

"Personally, I'm afraid right now." he says. "I'm thinking about my safety and I've already scaled back my tweets. Now I need to think twice about what I say online."

Mutai has become well known in Kenya for investigating corruption and explaining cases in short, easy-to-understand bursts.

Kenya passed a wide-ranging and controversial set of security measures in December in an attempt to combat the threat posed by Islamic militants from neighbouring Somalia. Some parts of the law were suspended by the country's High Court, but an atmosphere of fear remains, says the BBC's Juliet Njeri in Nairobi.

"People are censoring themselves online because they are worried they'll get in trouble," she says.

Some Kenyans are using the tag #DarkDays to express concern about the new laws on Twitter.

Keriako Tobiko, Kenya's public prosecutor, says he can't comment on the Mutai case because an investigation is ongoing. But he denied that the government is using the new security law to curtail freedom of speech.

"Those making such claims are being alarmists merely crying wolf for attention," Tobiko told BBC Trending in a text message. "Check out the kind of wild stuff that is said about the government and President [Uhuru] Kenyatta online and you'll confirm there is no truth in the claims."

And what about the future for one of the country's most well-known bloggers?

"I will continue investigating corruption in Kenya," Mutai says. "Whether I will continue publishing it is another question."

Blog by Anne-Marie Tomchak

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

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#FreeSpeechStories: The limits of Spanish humour

What subjects are off limits for humour?

Last week, at the same time as millions rallied online in support of pointed French satire using #JeSuisCharlie, in Spain #YoconFacu (I am with Facu) was trending last week in support of the satirist Facu Diaz. He's been accused of mocking victims of terrorism in an online video sketch which uses the iconography of the armed Basque organisation ETA.

His detractors say that he has overstepped the limits of freedom of expression - while he claims that he is actually being targeted for his close ties with the growing left-wing opposition movement, Podemos. So which one is it? BBC Trending's Anne-Marie Tomchak went to Madrid to investigate.

Reporting: Anne-Marie Tomchak

Video journalists: Alvaro A. Ricciardelli and Gabriela Torres

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#FreeSpeechStories: Your reactions to blogger Raif Badawi

Of course it's terrible, but it's the law of the land isn't it?

That's what you've been telling BBC Trending in reaction to the newsSaudi blogger Raif Badawi will be lashed 50 times a week for crimes including insulting Islam.

Thousands have been imprisoned in the Saudi kingdom for activism, what makes this guy so special, is another typical view on the subject.

On another note though, some people in the West think publicity about the flogging will shame Saudi citizens into calling for reform.

As YouTuber Gabslyv put it: "Give them enough rope, they'll hang themselves in the eyes of their own people. It's how change comes about ... bad press! It eventually takes effect. Reform of Islam is the key word."

There's no sign international outcry has pierced the consciousness of Saudi residents yet though.

Eighteen science Nobel laureate winners in the West have written anopen letter to academics at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.

They're urging them to support the campaign to cease public flogging, in the name of the very freedom of dissent which is vital for scientific enquiry.

@KAUST_News has yet to respond.

Raif Badawi's flogging was postponed last Friday on medical grounds but it is believed to be going ahead this week.

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

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#FreeSpeechStories: The explosion of #JeSuis____ campaigns

The French words for "I am" - "Je Suis" - have become a rallying cry for online campaigns around the world.

It is one of the most popular hashtags attached to a news event ever -#JeSuisCharlie has been used millions of times since the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this month. BBC Trending spoke to the creator of the slogan, who explained his underlying message: "I am free, I am not afraid."

Activists have since adapted the phrase, using #JeSuis as an opener for dozens of hashtags across several platforms - some of them earnest social and political campaigns, others less serious efforts.

Here are some of the #JeSuis hashtags that caught our eye in over the last two weeks:

#JeSuisRaif

This hashtag is being used by supporters of Saudi blogger and activist Raif Badawi who has been sentenced to flogging by authorities in Jeddah for "insulting Islam." BBC Trending has been following reactions to the case.

More than 450,000 have signed an Amnesty International petition calling for the release of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi

#JeSuisVolnovakha

In Ukraine, social media users including President Petro Poroshenko are using #JeSuisVolnovakha to draw attention to the conflict with pro-Russian separatists. The hashtag is named after the eastern city of Volnovakha where at least 12 people were killed in a bus shelling last Tuesday.

A mass rally called for solidarity with the people who died in an attack in eastern Ukraine on 13 Jan

#JeSuisNigeria

As the world showed solidarity after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, somequestioned the relative lack of response to Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, where hundreds have been killed this month.

#JeSuisNico

Memes mocked former French President Nicolas Sarkozy for finding his way to the front of the Paris unity march attended by world leaders - there is even a Tumblr account curating the memes which shows Sarkozy at the Moon landing in 1969 and at the funeral of John F Kennedy and a Martin Luther King Jr rally. "Nico" is the former president's nickname.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been photoshopped into a scene from Star Wars

#JeSuisHypocrite

Social media users have used this hashtag to call out perceived double standards by governments and the media in ensuring freedom of speech. #JeSuisDieudonne, for instance, emerged after the arrest of French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala over a Facebook comment appearing to back Paris gunman Amedy Coulibaly. Some have even rallied to support television anchor Jim Clancy with the hashtag#JeSuisJimClancy after he left CNN following a series of controversial tweets about the Paris attacks.

What are the other #JeSuis hashtags we should add to this list? Tweet us at @BBCTrending

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

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#FreeSpeechStories: Kenyans protest with bad hotel reviews

Kenyans upset at the tear-gassing of children have vented their anger on hotel review websites #OccupyPlayground https://t.co/vS8sgOT0gD

— BBC Trending (@BBCtrending)

January 21, 2015

Kenyans have hit upon a novel way to vent their anger about thetear-gassing of children trying to protect their playground from development.

There have been allegations on social media that the land is wanted for a nearby hotel - so following a riot police crackdown, protesters posted negative reviews of the business on sites such as TripAdvisor and Google.

BBC Trending has collected a few of the most scathing "reviews."

Produced by Ravin Sampat

Picture credits: Getty Images, AFP, CitizenTV

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

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#FreeSpeechStories: Has Martin Luther King been 'sanitised'?

Attention Americans, now enjoying a day off thanks to the federal holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr Day. If you're reading this on your phone while waiting in queue for brunch, you're doing it wrong.

So say the activists behind the #ReclaimMLK day hashtag.

Many have organised three days of protests, culminating today, calling attention to racial disparities in the US and hoping to inspire action like that taken by King during his days as a civil rights campaigner.

"Somewhere between his assassination and today began an MLK-neutering campaign meant to turn the famed agitator's holiday into a national Day of Service, a generic mishmash of good feelings that contorts King's social-justice legacy into a blissful Hallmark card of post-racial nothingness," writes Danielle C Belton on the Root.

Those using the #ReclaimMLK day tag are instead interested in direct and specific action to end racism in the US, and call attention to systematic problems they say are still plaguing minorities in America.

That's why some protesters in St Louis disrupted a cafe over the weekend chanting "No Justice, No Brunch."

Similarly, one of those protesters active in the demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri, Bassem Masri, tweeted, "#MLK was arrested 30 times during the civil rights movement, true patriot who was unafraid of the system he battled it head on #ReclaimMLK."

In Oakland, California, people gathered outside the home of Mayor Libby Schaff because, they say, she has been too supportive of the police. They projected quotes from America's most eminent civil rights leader on to her garage door.

While some are using the hashtag to get people on to the streets, others are using it simply to share facts about Dr King's life and shed his "sanitised" image.

"Let's not try to pacify his radicalness and for now on speak truth about his legacy. Uncompromising. Radical. Strategic." wrote Dante Barry.

"#ReclaimMLK Rev Dr Martin Luther King was a revolutionary. He rejected the (racist) status quo & made white people feel uncomfortable," wrote DNLee, a biologist in Ithaca, New York.

Community leaders gathered at the MLK memorial in WashingtonOprah Winfrey and the cast of the film Selma, which is about King, marched in Alabama

Jenifer Daniels, a marketing expert from Charlotte, North Carolina, has been tweeting excerpts of Dr King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail", concerned that his legacy has become too focused on his "I Have a Dream" speech.

She told the BBC that King's image is also too often used for commercial purposes.

"Martin Luther King is today is seen as - unfortunately - an opportunity for co-opting. A lot of brands, for some odd reason, were tweeting voraciously during 2014 using the hashtag as an opportunity to sell their wears, to talk about sales they were having at their stores."

But there are plenty who believe the day set aside to honour the Atlanta pastor, and the litany of community events taking place across the US, is a fitting way to mark his work.

A White House statement said: "The Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service is an opportunity for all Americans to honour Dr King by coming together to help meet the needs of their communities."

Reporting by Kate Dailey and Paul Blake

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending

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#FreeSpeechStories: Getting racists sacked

Have you ever posted something you might regret, or found out with a sting just how public social media is?

Chris Rincon worked at a car wash in Houston, Texas, and he thought nothing of posting a link to a fake news article about President Obama's daughter being pregnant to Facebook. But while exchanging comments with his friends he used a highly offensive slur against black people - and it eventually cost him his job.

Rincon's post was shared to a Tumblr called "Racists Getting Fired (and Getting Racists Fired!)".

Fans of the blog are encouraged to find and share incidents of racism online, expose those who've posted them, and then call and email the person's employer until they are sacked. According to the blog, over a dozen people have been fired or, in their words, "Gotten".

Rincon had been up most of the night playing video games when BBC Trending spoke to him. It's been a couple of weeks since he lost his job and he's still not back in work.

"I'm not going to sit here and deny that I didn't use the word," he said. "Because it's clear as day that I did use it."

"The fact that I was targeted specifically and individually really bothers me because I'm not the only person who has views in this aspect. It made me lose my job. I have a three-year-old kid that I'm trying to support … They're basing (their views of) a person off of one post instead of actually knowing the person," he said.

Rincon owned up to making the comment but one woman exposed on the blog has claimed she was wrongly targeted - her lawyers told BBC Trending that she was set up by someone she knew, and that death threats had been made against her.

The person or people behind Racists Getting Fired did not respond to our requests for comment. However the blog does set out some rules. It states that the bloggers only use already publicly available information about the person, and only target people over 18. They also urge blog readers not to harass the individuals or their family members, and to only contact the employers of the alleged racists.

But when does this idea of online justice cross the line to harassment?

"The issue comes down to motivation," said Whitney Phillips, an expert in online behaviour at Humboldt State University in California. "What is the difference between a vigilante and a troll? The answer is what they think about what they're doing."

"The issue of anonymity really complicates our ability to wrap our heads around what we're seeing."

One vigilante who's not remaining anonymous is Logan Smith. He's 27, lives in North Carolina and runs the twitter handle @YesYoureRacist. The idea is pretty simple - Logan starts his day by searching on Twitter for the phrase "I'm not racist but..." and then retweets the comments that he deems offensive to his 55,000 followers.

He started the account to show that racism is alive online, but says it's become popular because of the often amusing juxtaposition of the phrase and a racist comment.

But is there something underhand about taking comments that were perhaps only meant for a handful of people to see, and repeating them to tens of thousands, even millions of people, across the world?

"I'm just a guy with a keyboard," Smith said, "but I think I've made some good calls and I'll just let it be up to other people on Twitter to decide. People need to understand that what they post on social media in a public forum, really is public."

Blog by India Rakusen

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#FreeSpeechStories: France accused of 'double standards'

Tens of thousands of fans of the French comic Dieudonne - often criticised as anti-Semitic - are making claims of hypocrisy and double standards after French authorities opened up dozens of cases against people accused of justifying terrorism.

Fans of the controversial comedian reacted angrily after he was arrested and charged with condoning terrorism for a remark on his a Facebook page: "je me sens Charlie Coulibaly" ("I feel like Charlie Coulibaly").

The remark, which has since been taken down, was a mash-up of the#JeSuisCharlie tag and the name of Amedy Coulibaly, the man who killed a policewoman near a Jewish school and four people at a Jewish supermarket in Paris. Dieudonne later defended the remark by saying he felt like he was being persecuted by authorities as if he were a terror suspect.

"Freedom of expression is dead, but its funeral on Sunday was pretty!!" said one of the comedian's Facebook fans, referring to the enormous march through Paris in support of Charlie Hebdo.

"WHAT HYPOCRISY!!!!!" shouted another commentator. "You can legally caricature and insult the prophet and the Muslim world: the oligarchy calls this freedom of expression ... We are in a pseudo-democratic dictatorship."

Dieudonne is a comedian with a history of making crude jokes about the Holocaust (and occasionally getting into legal trouble). He has a huge following on social media including more than 900,000 Facebook fans. Most of the comments on his page were in support of the comedian, and his name was trending briefly on Twitter earlier in the week, but there were a few fans who thought Dieudonne had crossed a line.

"There is a big difference between freedom of expression and incitement to hatred," said one fan. "He knew what to expect ... Charlie Hebdo made caricatures of the prophet that I haven't agreed with, it has made a mockery of the prophet, made some laugh, shocked others, but there was no incentive to hatred and this is a big difference."

The comedian adapted the "Je Suis Charlie" trend to rally supporters after his arrest.

The arrest of Dieudonne was just one of dozens of cases - up to 100 according to one estimate - opened by the French authorities since the attacks. Some people have even been jailed already under fast-track legislation that was passed last year.

In a typical year, only one or two people are arrested for speaking out in favour of terrorism, said Emmanuel Pierrat, a French media lawyer and member of PEN International, which supports free expression.

Pierrat told BBC Trending that free speech is an idea at the core of the French nation, but one that in his view has been eroded over the years by exceptions for things including hate speech.

"We have weakened the principle of freedom of speech, for good intentions, but without thinking about the consequences. We need to think about how we can recover the idea of freedom of speech after an event that is so emotional, like the one in Paris (last week)," he said.

He cautioned however, that Dieudonne's statements could not be directly compared with the Charlie Hebdo cartoons showing the Prophet Muhammad.

"One thing is for sure, in France you can make drawings or speeches against ideology or against religion. The French revolution of 1789 abolished the crime of blasphemy" and courts have consistently upheld the legality of speech directed at religions or historical religious figures, he says.

Pierrat, who represented Michel Houellebecq when the author was cleared of charges of religious hate speech against Muslims in 2002, says the Dieudonne case will be difficult to judge given the ambiguity of the comedian's outburst. But he says he believes the authorities are made a mistake by arresting him. A trial is scheduled for next month.

"If Dieudonne wins, he will be like a hero," Pierrat says. "It will gives a lot of young people the idea that he is a champion of Muslims or immigrants ... he's no longer a comedian or an actor, but instead his audiences are far-right sympathisers."

"What makes me somewhat afraid is that French justice is speeding up when it comes to these questions," he says. "Like Americans after 11 September, the worry is that judgments are coming too quickly, and influenced by a very emotional event."

Blog by Mike Wendling

Translation by Estelle Doyle

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All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

[freespeechstories]

Beaten for blogging: #Free Speech Stories

Update 16 January: the latest round of lashings has been postponed, and the case has been referred to the Saudi Supreme Court by the king's office.

In the first of BBC Trending's #FreeSpeechStories, we meet the wife of a liberal blogger being punished in Saudi Arabia for "insulting Islam".

Last week he was whipped 50 times, and this week he was supposed to be beaten again. Raif Badawi has been sentenced to a total of 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for offences ranging from cybercrime to disobeying his father and insulting Islam on his "Saudi Liberal Network" website.

On Friday, Amnesty International said the latest round of lashings would be postponed for medical reasons. And the BBC has learned that the case has been referred to the Saudi Supreme Court for review.

Badawi's name was trending again on Twitter this week. His wife Ensaf Haidar told the BBC her family was living in "perpetual anxiety".

Video by Neil Meads and Mai Noman

Watch more videos on our YouTube channel or follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending.

All our stories are at bbc.com/trending

[freespeechstories]

Why we're telling #FreeSpeechStories

Am I free to offend you?

Should I deliberately share images that I know will offend others, as a statement of everyone's freedom to do so?

What about extremists? Should their speech be banned?

Questions like this have been dominating social media conversation in the days since the satirists of Charlie Hebdo were attacked and killed. We at BBC Trending tracked down the creator of the slogan #JeSuisCharlie, who told us the slogan is a way of declaring: "I am free, I am not afraid." More than 7m people have now used the hashtag on Twitter; a million more have used it on Instagram. There have been more than 60,000 YouTube videos using the slogan, not to mention countless Facebook discussions between friends and more than a few songs.

That's a lot of people rallying behind free speech.

But it wasn't long before much of the debate online became angry and polarised, and people began asking searching questions about freedom of expression in their own countries. There's been a spate of "Je Suis" hashtags for all sorts of other free speech causes around the world, along with accusations of double standards and strong reactions from Muslims about the new edition of Charlie Hebdo.

Over the coming weeks, we will be monitoring conversations about the limits of free speech - and telling these #FreeSpeechStories in videos, on our blog and on our radio programme. We want to hear from you about your own #FreeSpeechStories and which debates we should cover.Tweet us - no matter what your view.

by Mukul Devichand, Series Producer, BBC Trending