Apparently recognising the growing importance of social media in disseminating information and building public outreach, the Andhra Pradesh government headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has decided to engage social media influencers on a large scale to promote government schemes and initiatives.
On Wednesday, the state cabinet chaired by Naidu approved a Social Media Influencers (SMIs) Policy aimed at using social media creators to publicise government programmes and policies.
State Information and Public Relations Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy told reporters that social media influencers would be used to create awareness among the public about welfare schemes, infrastructure projects, development programmes and other government initiatives through their respective platforms.
As part of the policy, the Information and Public Relations Department and AP Digital Corporation Ltd will hold consultations with social media content creators and study policies adopted by other states before finalising the Andhra Pradesh framework.
Under the proposed system, credible influencers will be identified, verified and empanelled through APDCL.
“Content disseminated under the policy will have to be impartial, factual and in the public interest,” the minister said.
The policy will cover content creators on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X.
The initial empanelment will be for one year and may be extended by up to two additional years, one year at a time, based on satisfactory performance and the decision of the competent authority, Parthasarathy said.
