synopsis

Indian news agency, ANI's Twitter account, which had over 7.6 million followers, was locked on Saturday sparking a massive outburst on the platform.

In what has sparked a massive outburst on Twitter, the Indian news agency ANI's account was locked by the micro-blogging site on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, ANI's Smita Prakash revealed why the Elon Musk-owned company blocked the agency's Twitter account.

"So those who follow @ANI some bad news. @Twitter has locked out India's largest news agency which has 7.6 million followers and sent this mail - under 13 years of age! Our gold tick was taken away, substituted with blue tick and now locked out. @elonmusk," Smita Prakash wrote on her Twitter account with a screenshot of the message that the company mailed to ANI.

In the message Twitter noted, "Your account @ANI has been locked. In order to create a Twitter account, you must be at least 13 years old. Twitter has determined that you don't meet these age requirements, so your account has been locked and will be removed from Twitter."

"If you think your account was locked in error, you can let us know," Twitter's message to ANI added.

Twitter blocking @ANI has sparked a massive reaction on the microblogging site, with most followers taking a potshot at Elon Musk. Meanwhile, a meme fest and jokes around the bizarre reason and Smita Prakash's tweet have exploded on Twitter.

"@elonmusk, wake up read this Twitter thread. Who is responsible for this mess," said an ANI follower, while another added, "In scale of WTF news, this ranks even higher than the predicament I'm facing. Paid Rs 6800 without Twitter even acknowledging the payment and asking me to subscribe to Twitter Blue again. @smitaprakash @TwitterSupport."

"Absurd decision by @Twitter. Such arbitrary action against a news agency is bound to invite tough regulatory response," former CEO Prasar Bharti, Shashi Shekhar Vempati.

"Wow AI must have gotten seriously smart. They know the actual mental age of ANI," noted another Twitter user.

Here's a look at some of the reactions to Twitter locking ANI's account:

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