Kerala police take down social media post after getting caught in football fan rivalry
The Kerala Police deleted a social media post after it was misinterpreted by football fans as a political jab at Argentina. The post, intended to highlight law enforcement, sparked an intense online backlash from rival fan groups during the FIFA World Cup.
Why it matters
It highlights the volatility of social media engagement for government institutions when they attempt to leverage trending cultural events.
In its bid to ride the wave of FIFA World Cup frenzy and draw a few eyeballs to its social media handles, the Kerala Police never anticipated becoming collateral damage in the ongoing online crossfire between Argentina loyalists and their detractors on social media.
The post featured a uniformed officer with his arm draped over the shoulder of a human-sized Kerala map beside a football ground. The imagery, evocative of a referee about to send in a substitute, seemed innocuous at first glance. Shared on the eve of Argentina’s quarter-final clash against Switzerland last week, what exposed it to interpretations by football fans was the reflection of a real referee and a No. 10-clad Argentine player.
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