Ahead of election results, Koo releases advisory to restrict misinformation

 

Ahead of election results in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttrakhand, Goa and Manipur, the Koo App has released an advisory to sensitize users to harness social media in a responsible manner and to curb misinformation and fake news. As part of the advisory, Koo has also released its Community Guidelines in all the 10 languages that are operational on the platform.

These guidelines are aligned to the Indian context and empower creators, as well as first-time users to build more wholesome content, while detailing out what constitutes responsible online conduct. The Guidelines carry specific references to fake news and misinformation, and inform users on the importance of verifying information before posting, while refraining from calling out information as ‘fake’ without adequate proof.

Since a spike in misinformation is usually witnessed on social media before election results, Koo has enabled users access to prominent third-party fact-checkers for the purpose of authenticating information. Being a social media intermediary, Koo itself does not assess accuracy or interfere with content, unless required by the law; and thus by enabling access to fact-checkers, reiterates its commitment to building safety and transparency online.

As fake news is often proliferated by bots or spam accounts, Koo – being a reliable platform – proactively monitors and restricts the actions of such accounts to limit misinformation. From 1st December 2021 till 28th February 2022, the platform spotted more than 4,720 handles that identified themselves as news channels, journalists or being related to news in any manner, out of which 834 handles have been restricted due to spammy or unwarranted content. Koo continues to monitor their behavior.

Said Aprameya Radhakrishna, CEO and Co-founder, Koo, “As a social platform for self-expression in native languages, we celebrate creators and empower users to adopt a more holistic approach online to foster creativity and innovation. Misinformation is a key concern ahead of crucial events. Through this advisory, Koo – as a responsible platform – can help restrict the proliferation of fake news and malice, and promote greater online safety and transparency. The advisory will encourage users, especially first-time users to leverage technology in a positive and respectful manner to build more meaningful conversations online. Koo endeavors to identify best practices on a continuous basis to provide users with a secure and immersive experience.”

A signatory to the Voluntary Code of Ethics by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which aspires to the ethical use of social media during elections, Koo has also been augmenting voter literacy to build greater trust in the electoral process. To empower first-time voters on their rights and responsibilities as enshrined in the Constitution of India, the platform released – Koo Voters Guide – prior to the elections in multiple languages, and has successfully executed voter awareness campaigns like PledgeToVote, UP ka Manifesto.