KOCHI: While the world is struggling with an influx of fake news and misinformation, providing credible data is a huge responsibility. As the team at the District Information Office, Ernakulam. Right from the time the first Nipah case was reported in Ernakulam in 2019, the Facebook page of the District Collector, Ernakulam, was being keenly watched by netizens.
According to the latest statistics, the Ernakulam Collector’s page has 4,57,705 followers on Facebook. Kozhikode is at a close second (4,34,106) and Pathanamthitta is third (3,92,746).
The district information office, Ernakulam, is also ahead of other information offices in the state. While the Ernakulam office has 1,27,251 followers, Thiruvananthapuram has 39,982 and Kottayam has 32,563 followers. Ernakulam information has scored 1,07,692 likes, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (33,643) and Kottayam (30,063).
“The well-trained teams at district information office is handling both the pages. We do not have a separate team for social media, but the information assistants are being trained by the Information and Public Relations Department to post information in the clearest way possible. We keep updating on topics that the public has an interest in. The pages were especially responsive during Nipah, floods, and the pandemic,” said the information officer in-charge K K Jayakumar.
Consistency and the use of visual elements including posters, flyers and animated videos have helped their popularity, he added. “They are also utilising mobile journalism for this. News bulletins and video tutorials are being shot on smartphones. Employment bulletins are the most popular, the officer added.