Last week, a familiar image appeared on the local news in India: a police raid, with a reporter standing in front of a group of Delhi’s Special Cell police, a unit typically responsible for busting gangs and other black market operations. But the police force wasn’t busting up a seedy underground gang spot — they were paying a visit to Twitter’s offices in the Indian capital.

The police visit came after Twitter labeled a tweet from the national spokesperson of the ruling party as “manipulated media,” a policy adopted in February 2020 to alert the platform’s users of “significantly and deceptively altered or fabricated” media. The Delhi police, who had served Twitter a notice to remove the label the week prior, were ostensibly knocking on Twitter’s door to investigate the matter.

[…]