Why Has a Tweet by Rihanna Angered the Indian Government?

A short tweet posted by the popular singer Rihanna has prompted huge interactions on social media platforms, especially in India, as the famous singer who is followed by more than 100 million people tweeted in support of the on-going farmer's protests in India.

Since the early days of December, thousands of Indian farmers have been protesting across the country and blocking roads in Delhi as they demanded that their government withdraws three new agricultural laws deemed damaging to their already-troubled industry.

Even though protests have been largely peaceful, the short violent interactions with police have been barely covered by international media, which has urged the American-Barbadian singer to tweet a question over the global silence in regard to the farmers' protests, especially that reports are pointing at a government crackdown on the protests, evident in frequent internet cuts witnessed in Delhi.

The link to the CNN article has ignited social media as near 800k followers linked Rihanna's tweet while more than 40k has shared the news again. 

Indian commentators in favor of the protests have thanked Rihanna for her tweet, saying that it helps their "just demands" being heard across the world.

Meanwhile, pro-government online commentators argued that Rihanna and other international figures "should not take sides in conflicts they don't know enough about," urging them to hear the other sides before commenting on events.

Additionally, former Lebanese-American porn star Mia Khalifa has tweeted in support of Indian farmers, as her tweet went viral online.