All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday targeted the new digital media policy of the Uttar Pradesh government. Under this new policy, the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh will give money to influencers who have a lot of followers on social media platforms like X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and legal action will also be taken against those who post “objectionable content”.
Taking aim at this policy, Owaisi said that the Yogi government has launched this scheme to cover up its failures. He wrote in a post on X, “Yogi Adityanath has launched a new scheme to cover up his failures. Under the scheme, one can earn up to 8 lakh rupees by falsely praising Baba on social media. If you even legally oppose Baba or his party, you will be declared anti-national and sent to jail. Now the IT Cell people will run their houses with your tax money.”
What does the new digital media policy say?
The Uttar Pradesh government’s digital media policy aims to leverage social media platforms to disseminate information about the state’s welfare schemes and achievements. Under this policy, influencers on platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube will be eligible to receive up to ₹8 lakh per month based on their reach and engagement.
For this, the government has created four categories of influencers based on the number of followers or subscribers. Arrangements have been made to pay them at different fixed rates per month for promoting government schemes. To take advantage of this policy, agencies or influencers will have to register with the government after which advertisements will be issued to them.
Who will earn how much?
Under the UP Digital Media Policy 2024, agencies or influencers will have to create content, videos, tweets, posts and reels on government schemes and achievements for which they will be paid. In four categories created on the basis of the number of followers, users of X, Instagram and Facebook can get Rs 2 lakh, 3 lakh, 4 lakh and 5 lakh rupees per month. For making advertising videos, shorts or podcasts on YouTube, up to Rs 4 lakh, 6 lakh, 7 lakh and 8 lakh will be paid in four categories.