Page 2 - Koo

Twitter creating bots, Koo won't charge money for verification: CEO

Koo -- the made-in-India rival of Twitter -- will not charge users for a verification badge, its co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna said as he took on the larger rival for allegedly first creating bots and now charging users for verification. Koo, which allows users to express views in Indian languages, has already crossed 50 million downloads and is now flying into the rival's nest, starting a campaign on Twitter by making itself prominently visible on verified handles and offering them better deals on its platform at no cost. Since taking over Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk has set in motion massive changes, sacking employees and talking of levying a USD 8 charge for 'verified' handles. Koo, on the other hand, offers Aadhaar-based self-verification and a free-of-cost yellow verification tag for eminent persons. Radhakrishna said Twitter bots, also known as zombies, are automated accounts controlled by bot software. Their purpose is to tweet and retweet content for specific

Why pay $8 when you get everything free on our platform: Koo co-founder

In a Q&A, Aprameya Radhakrishna, who is also the CEO of the made-in-India microblogging platform, says Koo is even open to hiring those Twitter sacked and that verification on Koo is free for life

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee joins social media platform Koo

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has joined social media platform Koo, a statement said on Monday. Banerjee, who has 7 million followers on Twitter and 4.9 million followers on Facebook, joined Koo on November 1. "Her handle is @Mamtaofficial on Koo. In her first Koo, Mamata Banerjee announced the milestone of 50 lakh rural households having access to clean potable water through tap connections. She congratulated everyone involved in achieving this," the statement issued by Koo said. Koo co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna said the TMC and other leaders of the party have also joined the platform. "Millions of Bengali users across the world and many Indians across the country would want to get updates from Mamata Ji directly," he said.

Paid Twitter blue ticks? A look at the origin of social media verification

Elon Musk on Tuesday announced that Twitter users would have to 'buy' their verification blue ticks for $8 per month

Micro-blogging site Koo clarifies it laid off 15 employees, not 40

Homegrown micro-blogging platform Koo on Tuesday said that it has laid off 15 employees, or 5 per cent of its workforce, and not 40 as earlier reported in the media

Homegrown Twitter rival Koo lays off 40 employees in 'realignment' move

A Koo spokesperson told IANS thatAthe platform is at a phase of rapid growth as it steers digital inclusion for native language speakers

Koo makes algorithms public; pledges commitment to transparency, neutrality

Koo's latest move comes at a time when transparency and free speech concerns have dominated the public narrative around social media platforms such as Twitter

Microblogging platform Koo enables Aadhaar-based self-verification

This makes Koo first 'significant social media intermediary'--defined by govt as a platform with over 5 mn users--to enable this feature

Twitter-rival Koo plans voluntary 'identification tick' for general users

Koo plans to introduce 'identification tick' option on a voluntary basis for all general users as the microblogging platform broadens its verification programme beyond the current yellow badge

Koo issues advisory to check fake news ahead of Assembly poll results

In a statement, the micro-blogging site on Friday said it has released community guidelines for its users in the 10 languages that are operational on the platform

Assembly elections: Koo launches Voters Guide to encourage people to vote

Microblogging platform Koo said it has released a multi-lingual guide on Voter Rights and Responsibilities ahead of the upcoming legislative assembly elections.

Koo adopts Voluntary Code of Ethics for fair social media use during polls

Microblogging platform Koo app on Thursday said it has adopted a 'Voluntary Code of Ethics', with a view to safeguard conversations on social media related to the upcoming Assembly elections.

Bhupendra Patel launches Gujarati version of Indian micro-blogging site Koo

The made-in-India micro-blogging site aims to provide tools to the people to connect and express their opinion in their language

Transparency on algorithms right way to establish trust with users: Koo CEO

Taking transparent and consistent approach to algorithms is a conscious choice to be made by every social media platform, and is "the right way to go" to establish trust with users Koo's co-founder an

Koo user base at about 15 mn; eyes expansion in SE Asia in H2 2022

Homegrown microblogging platform Koo's user base has touched about 15 million now, with five million users added in the last quarter, its co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna has said. Koo will maintain its sharp focus on the Indian market, onboarding more and more users, even as it plans to venture into one new market in Southeast Asia after June 2022. The Indian microblogging platform, which has enjoyed a meteoric rise in usage, is currently also available in Nigeria, a market that "continues to grow". Overall, the platform has hit about 15 million downloads now, with 5 million added in the last quarter, Radhakrishna told PTI. "We have seen rapid growth. We are making sure that everything that India celebrates, whether it is language or culture, is resonating on Koo... Be it the cricket, politics, movies, spiritual leaders and their following, everything is being celebrated on Koo in their (users') languages," Radhakrishna said. The platform, earlier this year, made inroads into ...

Proactively moderated 38,456 content pieces in Aug: Koo compliance report

Koo has proactively moderated 38,456 content pieces, while 4,493 posts were reported by its users during the month of August, the homegrown company has said in its monthly compliance report

Microblogging platform Koo to raise headcount to 500 in a year: Co-founder

Homegrown microblogging platform Koo expects to raise its headcount to over 500 people in the next one year, as it looks to hire across engineering, product and community management teams

Koo claims pole position as Hindi language social media platform

Says half its 10 million users interact in Hindi, making it the platform of choice for regional language users

'Into the limelight': Koo, India's answer to Twitter, goes past 10 mn users

The app, which lets users send tweet-like posts in English and seven Indian languages, has seen about 85% of users join since February, when Twitter's disputes with the Modi administration escalated

Proactively moderated 65,280 content pieces in July says Koo

Koo has proactively moderated 65,280 content pieces, while 3,431 posts were reported by its users during July, the homegrown company said in its monthly compliance report as mandated by the IT rules. The new IT rules require large digital platforms - with over 5 million users - to publish monthly compliance reports, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken thereon, as well details around proactively moderated content. In a statement on Monday, Koo said it took steps to proactively moderate 65,280 posts, of which 2.9 per cent (1,887) were removed while 'other action' was taken against the balance 63,393. Other action' includes overlay, blur, ignore, warn, etc., related to Koos that do not comply with GoI guidelines, it added. The report for July 2021 shows that of the 3,431 Koos reported by the community (users), wherein 14.5 per cent (498) were removed, while other action' was taken against the rest 2,933, it said. The volume of proactively moderated content