Calling out the opposition parties for spreading negativity, lies and hate on social media for petty political gains, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that social media was a powerful tool which must be used to spread awareness and positivity rather than spreading fallacious information.
“Social media has become a powerful instrument of democracy. It must be used as a weapon to counter fake news and statements immediately in order to avoid conflicts that are made up to satisfy selfish motives," Yogi said while addressing a workshop of Bharatiya Janata Party’s information technology and social media cell in Lucknow on Friday.
Emphasising on the importance of social media for good governance, the chief minister said that as social media was the fastest growing form of media and the fourth pillar of a democratic nation, it should be used in a way to build a better interactive bridge between the government and the citizens.
“Social media connects people at ground level, in order to spread awareness, videos of people who have availed benefits of government schemes must be uploaded to promote them further. The opposition leaders, who are desperate to regain lost political ground, are engaged in political stunts to topple the efficient working of the government instead of educating and making people aware of issues in reality,” Yogi said.
“Those who are presenting themselves as ‘well-wishers’ of farmers and are disturbing the peace of the nation must know that over 45 lakh sugarcane farmers in UP have been paid a record cane payment of more than Rs 1,40,000 crore. We must work as a team and make people aware of our achievements through social media to put an end to fake statements,” he stressed
Lashing out at the opposition parties for creating fake scenarios on social media, the chief minister asked people to be alert and cautious of what they read and shared. He advised that people should first check when they receive any news on social media before forwarding it to others.
"The fashion of forwarding needs to be solved with technology. Since we cannot separate ourselves from it, hence, it must be used in an effective way to influence lives positively," he added.