Ashok Gehlot govt to rope in social media influencers ahead of state polls

The Rajasthan government will be roping in social media influencers to publicise its welfare work on social media ahead of the upcoming assembly election.

The Ashok Gehlot-led government in a notification on June 26 said that in addition to the print and electronic media, social media influencers will now be hired to advertise the government's works.

According to the notification, the influencers will be paid up to 5 lakh per month depending on a variety of parameters, including the number of followers they have and the material they post.

"The Rajasthan government would grant advertisements to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, which are being operated from within or outside the state, in order to make the state government's public welfare programmes accessible to the general public swiftly.

"According to usage and requirements, the adverts will be delivered to account owners, operators, or social media influencers," the notification says.

The government has identified four kinds of social media influencers on the basis of number of followers and frequency with which they post.

Influencers with a minimum of 10 lakh followers will fall under the highest 'A' category. The 'B' group will consist of users with 5 lakh followers, and the 'C' category will comprise users with 1 lakh followers. Those with at least 10,000 followers will fall under the category 'D'.

In addition to the number of followers, the government notification has as a criterion the number of videos and other posts influencers shared each month over the previous six months.

The benchmark for category 'A' was set at 150 posts or 100 videos per month, while for category 'B' influencers it was a minimum of 60 videos or 100 posts per month.

According to the government, users in the 'A' category will be paid up to Rs 5 lakh per month, while users in the B, C, and D categories can earn to Rs 2 lakh, Rs 50,000, and Rs 10,000 publicising the state's schemes.

According to government officials, priority will be given to account owners or users who share content pertaining to Rajasthani art, culture, and development.

Any material that is "anti-national" or "obscene" in nature will not be allowed to be posted, they said.