Influencers ‘busy criticising govt’, Goa wants to put their skills to good use

Stating that ‘influencers’ have become an important tool in creating awareness about issues, Sawant said, “This strategic engagement seeks to generate maximum awareness of government initiatives, services, and schemes by leveraging the influencers’ reach through their social media handles. The initiative shall bridge the gap between the people and the government, with the involvement of social media enthusiasts promoting government schemes, and programs. The government has made a budgetary allocation of Rs 2 crore for the initiative.”

Sawant said after Rajasthan, Goa is the second state to come up with a policy of enlisting social media influencers to promote government schemes.

He added, “Even in tourism, there are several initiatives such as hinterland tourism, which can be promoted…Sometimes, social media influencers are busy criticizing the government. They can now use their skill for a good purpose.”

As per the policy, social media influencers can apply on an online portal till February 14 and the applications will be shortlisted based on the ‘followers count’. The applicant should be a resident of Goa and provide a latest domicile or residence certificate of 15 years. The guidelines state that the applicant should have a presence on either Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter for a minimum period of one year. “The highest count of followers on any one of these platforms will be considered for determining the influencer’s category,” it adds, adding that influencers will be clubbed into four categories based on follower count.

The guideline states that a shortlisted applicant shall refrain from posting content or engaging in activities “that may contradict and/or cast doubt and/or negatively affect public perception of the content of the posts provided and approved by the authority”.

“An applicant upon being shortlisted shall not post on its social media handle/profile any offensive, abusive, discriminatory and/or inappropriate content,” it adds.

Ankita Mishra, CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), the nodal authority for the initiative, said, “We often hear complaints that the real beneficiaries of government schemes are unable to avail their benefits. Several studies and reports from the ground have also suggested that this is mainly due to lack of awareness. We have now recognized the power of social media [in terms of outreach]…even in small villages these days, the concept of vlogging has taken off. So, we are trying to tap that energy.”

Last year in August, Sawant had said the government was considering taking action against social media influencers and users who “defame” the state on social media. The matter was raised in the state legislative assembly by Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar, who had claimed that there was an “increasing trend of defaming Goa through Instagram reels on social media”.

“We have seen [that] many non Goans come to Goa and spread misinformation about the state. Though we believe in freedom of expression, we cannot tolerate anyone spreading wrong notions about our land and faith. While we welcome tourists, they cannot get the right to defame Goa,” Salkar had said.