As the country adapts to stay at home due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the lockdown, people are spending the majority of their time on smartphones to stay updated and informed about the situation around the country. One app that is helping people stay connected with their communities is ‘Public’ app, a location based social network, that helps people stay connected with their towns and villages. The Public app, during COVID times, has seen an uptake and growth of over 100% in downloads, across towns and cities. In pure numbers, there have been over 3 lakh downloads per day.
Interestingly, more than 1000 politicians, administrative officials and local (district) government authorities like police personnel and medical officers, across the states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, UP and MP have joined the app to reach out to people and curb any kind of misinformation around coronavirus. Authorities and leaders are using the app to combat fake news and rumours that are being spread around COVID19 and to hear grievances of people to ensure everyone’s safety. Additionally, major political parties and associations at national and regional level such as BJP, National Students Union of India, Janata Dal united, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress, among others, have also been using this app to connect with communities.
Authorities and leaders are using the app to educate people around COVID-19, various government policies and listening to grievances of people to solve their problems. Since each district faces different types of problems, authorities are using the app to share specific instructions with people.
Some of the politicians who are actively using the app to communicate and engage with their communities are Hema Malini, Varun Gandhi, Kamal Nath, C.P. Joshi, Chandrabhan Singh, Bhopinder S Hooda, Deepender Singh Hooda, Om Prakash Dhankar, and Dr Alok Ranjan.
Speaking on the trend, Azhar Iqubal, Co-founder and CEO, Public, ‘’The world is grappling with the pandemic of COVID-19 and it has sent people in panic mode like never before, with misinformation only adding to the chaos. Everyone needs credible sources of information and ways to stay connected with their communities. Through the Public app, we are helping leaders and authorities to reach out to people to communicate the right and relevant information and combat misinformation around the virus. The app, unlike other social media platforms, provides updates to users as per their location, and has become a helpful tool for politicians to communicate and create awareness among people which is very critical at this juncture.”