Odisha government to formulate social media policy soon, says CM Majhi

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday announced that the state government would soon formulate a social media policy to meet the needs of the digital era and strengthen the information system.

Addressing information service officers at a function on “Emerging Trends in Social Media” at Lok Seva Bhavan here, the chief minister said a seamless information and communication mechanism would be established in the Information and Public Relations department. A strict fact-checking system would also be implemented to counter misinformation and rumoursdigital media, he added.

Observing that young people were ahead of traditional media in their extensive use of social media and artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, Majhi said the government would also have to adopt these emerging trends in its communication strategy.The Chief Minister said information officers should go beyond merely issuing press releases and discharge their duties as skilled communication professionals. He stressed the need to monitor social media to quickly identify public opinion and grievances.In the digital age, delays in providing information create an information vacuum, which is often exploited by some to spread wrong and misleading information. Therefore, correct information must be delivered quickly and in simple language that ordinary people can understand,” he said.Chief secretary Anu Garg said that in the changing digital environment, officers should not limit themselves to disseminating information but convey the government’s welfare initiatives to the public with honesty and commitment. Promoting accurate information would further strengthen trust between the government and the public, she added. Additional chief secretary of the Information and Public Relations department Hemant Sharma said information and public relations officers were the government’s public face. Their role was crucial in communicating the government’s development initiatives and policies to the people.

The CM said communicating the human stories of how government schemes were transforming the lives of ordinary citizens, rather than merely presenting statistics or data, could be more effective in reaching the public.

Stating that official communication should be based on three key principles of accuracy, speed and simplicity, Majhi said errors in government data or statistics were unacceptable.

“This is not just the era of traditional print or electronic media but also of social media. The mobile phone in every citizen’s hand today is simultaneously a newspaper, television, radio and a medium of multiple forms of communication,” he said.