The West Bengal unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has accused social media giant Facebook of blocking the upload of a party-produced video highlighting the plight of migrant workers from the state, calling it a case of “digital censorship” and “ideological bias” against left-wing content.
The 2 minute 32-second video, titled “Ora Kaj Kore” (they work), was created by the CPI-M state committee’s IT cell. The video seeks to question why lakhs of people from West Bengal are forced to migrate to other states for work and blames both central and state governments’ economic policies for the unemployment crisis in the state. Despite multiple attempts, party leaders say they were unable to upload the video on Facebook, which reportedly flagged several phrases as problematic. According to Sayandeep Mitra, a senior CPI-M state committee member, the video was also denied promotion on YouTube due to the use of words like “class struggle”, “revolution”, “imperialism”, and “capitalism must be destroyed”.
“Facebook is now afraid of the ghost of Marxism,” Mitra told The Statesman. “While the platform allows violent rhetoric from ruling parties and communal hate speeches to circulate, any content that highlights the struggles of workers or criticises capitalism is treated as dangerous.” He alleged that social media platforms have been complicit in shaping a narrative aligned with the political status quo—particularly what he called the “binary politics” of the BJP and Trinamul Congress.
According to CPI-M leaders, the video was designed to bring public attention to questions such as: Why is there no work in West Bengal? Why are workers forced to migrate? Who is responsible for this economic stagnation?
Sources within the party said Facebook suggested “softer” alternatives for words like “class struggle” (to be replaced with “worker mobilisation”) and advised against using phrases such as “overthrow capitalism” or “take to the streets”. “It’s like being told to say ‘pleasant greetings’ instead of ‘revolution’,” Mitra quipped, adding, “Had Salil Chowdhury been alive today, even his timeless protest songs would’ve been flagged as unsafe.” The CPI-M argues that this selective filtering reflects the deepening alliance between authoritarian states and global tech platforms, which increasingly act to suppress working-class resistance and anti-imperialist narratives.
This isn’t the first time the Left has accused digital platforms of bias. The CPI-M says their growing support among working classes—visible in both street-level movements and digital engagement—is being deliberately suppressed. Facebook, owned by Meta Platforms Inc., has not responded publicly to the allegations at the time of publishing.