Election campaigning going digital ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and four other states have pushed not just candidates and political parties to amplify their presence online, but also voters to take more interest in their local candidates. The digital push has made it easier for candidates to reach out to their voters, and given a chance to indigenous social media platforms to grow exponentially.
The CEO and co-founder of one of India’s largest indigenous social platforms, Aprameya Radhakrishna of Koo app, a social media platform based on local language, spoke to News18 exclusively with just a few days left for the UP assembly polls. Radhakrishna talked about content in local language and fighting misinformation on social media platforms. Excerpts from the interview:
You are the CEO and co-founder of Koo app. Everyone is curious to know how the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections affecting social media platforms, especially when it comes to an indigenous platform such as yours?
I think for a long time, the open internet has been about voicing opinions and it is now that people are experiencing true freedom of speech online. There are millions of Indians who aren’t conversant with English and, hence, weren’t able to experience online expression earlier. Our platform is focused on giving a voice to every Indian, irrespective of the language that they speak.
Koo has enabled people to voice their opinion on different issues not only in the country, but their lives, and in a language of their choice. That level of freedom on the internet has never been felt before, and that is what we are enabling. Since right now, it’s the election season, people are expressing their thoughts, concerns and opinions about the elections, and sharing their dreams about the country. And all of this is happening in local languages for the first time.
Do you see any change in flow of data and traffic during elections? What sort of traffic are you getting, especially from the northern part of the country?
Hindi is our largest community. We are the platform that has maximum expression in Hindi right now. We are witnessing considerable growth in numbers and ‘Koos’ being posted in Hindi. If you look at regions like UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa — where elections are happening — the kind of time spent by users on the platform has increased. All of this points to the fact that everybody is getting a platform to express themselves in their local language. We are also giving political leaders a platform to talk to the audience of India in local languages for the first time.
We all know how Covid-19 has affected our lives. But it has shown us that everything will be going digital, including election campaigning. Even the Election Commission has given consent to political parties to campaign virtually. How has that affected ‘Koo’?
Communicating digitally in local languages and reaching out to people — this is happening for the first time on a platform. So, for a person who wants to be engaged in conversations around the elections, there are definite spaces on the app. We have a tab called ‘UP elections’. People can go there and get the latest ‘Koos’ around the UP elections. They can also post their ‘Koos’ about issues they feel strongly about. So, all of this has been enabled on our app.
One important aspect is that we all have witnessed is the flow of misinformation on social media platforms. How are you tackling that? Have you outsourced it to any third party or do you have an internal mechanism to keep a check on that?
So, we are a signatory to Voluntary Code of Ethics. We will follow the directions of the EC to limit any violation of the electoral code. Our intent is extremely high as a social media app of India, and we want to set the right examples for all else who operate in India on how social media apps must operate during the elections.
When it comes to fake news, it is a highly specialised subject. We always take action based on the law of the land. But we also work with other specialists good at figuring out fake news and we want to democratise it. So, if a user feels that something posted by another user is not trustworthy enough, we are moving towards a place where they can take that ‘Koo’ and submit it to an array of fact-checkers who will be listed on the app. They can provide proof whether that information is fake or real.
As a platform, we want to stay away from dishing out judgment. We want to be the largest opinion platform of India, and eventually the world — without having an opinion of our own. That means we want specialists or the right people to comment on what is fake or not, rather than us being the judge. So, we want to give the power to the user and to the people who are specialists in figuring out if something is fake or not.
Which are the platforms you see as your competitors?
We are a true social media platform where every single piece of content is generated by the user. And we have formed a social network. And the network that is being created is for communication and expression in local languages. I don’t think there is anyone else who is doing that in India, and no one except ‘Big Tech’ is doing this globally. I think there is a lot of opportunity for us to use this avenue to include left out segments. Going forward, social networks will be built around local languages. ‘Koo’ is also a way for English internet users to communicate for the first time with people who interact in local languages.
Other social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter are also offering content in local languages and features like translations. Do you see them as your competitors?
So, understanding the social media landscape is important here. Each social media platform is known for one thing — the kind of networks being created on their platforms. For example, Facebook is a network of friends and family. We go there to get updates from friends and family. Instagram is a place for all of us to connect with people posting lifestyle content like travel and food among others. Twitter is for thoughts and opinions, but it is a global platform focused on English. So, all English-speaking people of the world are on that platform and exchanging thoughts and opinions.
‘Koo’ has a specific use case — that is, connecting with people for thoughts and opinions in local languages. Nobody else is doing this. Hence, I say there is no competition in what we are doing. Another way of looking at social media platforms is if you are an open network or a closed network. For example, on WhatsApp, we connect with people whose phone numbers we have. It is a closed network. But ‘Koo’ is an open network. If you say anything, the possibility of someone seeing it is high. In the realm of social media, where every tweak leads to a new product, our offer to the world and to India is expression in local languages.
We make it easier even for English-speaking people to interact in local languages. I am sure that you have not created too much content in local language on the internet. It’s not that you don’t want to, or you don’t want to reach out to people. It’s just that there has never been a platform enabling you to do that. And that’s what ‘Koo’ does.
Initially, there was a perception that ‘Koo’ is working in favour of a certain political party. Politicians of other parties were hesitant in joining the platform. But eventually, they all are joining now. So, how do you see that?
We were always a neutral platform. As I said, we are a platform that enables expression in local languages for everybody in India. We invite every single person in India to join our platform and express themselves. Yes, as you said, among different topics spoken on ‘Koo’ — which includes Bollywood, TV, entertainment, sports, cricket, poetry, religion and spirituality — politics is one of them. All political parties have now started adopting ‘Koo’ because we have a real proposition.
The proposition is to connect with people who speak different languages. It is important to talk to them and share their thoughts on the important issues of the country. That will help users understand each party and leader better and, hence, build a connection that has never been established before on the internet. So, I think what we are doing is special and unique. I want every single person in India, and eventually in the world, to come and use ‘Koo’, so as to express themselves in their local language.
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