Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps track of the use of social media by CMs of various states and shared with him a chart revealing how those heads of state are utilising those digital platforms.
Noting that “a specific group of youth, the name of which I was told not to mention” is much ahead of government officers in their use of those fora, CM Majhi said his government is planning to formulate a social media policy.
CM Majhi was delivering the keynote address on ‘Emerging Trends in Social Media’ at an orientation programme for Odisha Information Service (OIS) officers here.
“Recently, I went to New Delhi to attend a meeting of the Jal Shakti Ministry where the Prime Minister gave me a sealed envelope and told me to open it later. When I opened it, I found a chart showing how chief ministers use social media platforms such as Instagram, X and others,” CM Majhi said.
He said that the chart showed which CMs use which platform effectively, and he found that some small states were ahead of Odisha.
“I have shared the chart with the chief secretary. I will not speak much about it. We need to disseminate information to the lowest level. The beneficiaries should know about the programmes and their feedback is also available on social media,” Majhi said.
The chief minister, who also holds the Information and Public Relations (IPR) portfolio, asked OIS officers to make maximum use of social media to serve the people.
“A specific group of youth — I would not name it here; I was told not to utter that — is much ahead of the officers. When we use X or Instagram, this group is familiar with more advanced forms of social media,” he said.
Today’s youth extensively use social media and artificial intelligence platforms, instead of the traditional media, and the government must also adopt these modern trends for official communication, Majhi said.
He said that in order to strengthen the system, a ‘Social Media Policy’ would be formulated in the state.
“A seamless digital information and communication mechanism will be established within the Information and Public Relations Department, spanning from the district level to the state headquarters. A stringent fact-checking system will be implemented to counter misinformation and rumours spread through digital media,” he said.
Majhi said that the mobile phone in every citizen’s hand has become a newspaper, television, radio, and a multi-faceted medium of communication all rolled into one.
“Therefore, government officials must not limit themselves to merely issuing press releases but must discharge their duties as skilled communication professionals,” he said.
The chief minister stated that the state’s communication approach should always be grounded in three key principles: accuracy, speed, and simplicity.
“Errors in government data or statistics are unacceptable. In the digital age, delay in disseminating information creates an information vacuum, which is often exploited by some quarters to spread incorrect or misleading information,” Majhi said.
Therefore, accurate information must be conveyed to the public swiftly, and in simple language that the common person can easily understand, he noted.
Majhi also placed special emphasis on the art of storytelling.
“Instead of merely presenting dry statistics or data, it would be more impactful to bring to the public the human stories of how government schemes are transforming the lives of ordinary citizens, ” he said.
The chief minister highlighted significant challenges posed to society in the era of Artificial Intelligence, such as deepfakes, voice cloning, and synthetic videos.
He warned that misinformation spreads rapidly before the truth can come to light. Therefore, verifying the authenticity of any information before sharing it is crucial.
Government officials need to become lifelong learners and acquire proficiency in digital media, fact-checking, and video content creation.
Majhi also directed departmental officials to submit a comprehensive proposal to strengthen the social media framework.
PTI