Twitter announces initiatives for #JagrukVoter ahead of #AssemblyElections2022
Dehradun, January 14, 2022: Elections are when people come to Twitter to find credible information about voting, to learn about candidates and their manifestos, and to engage in healthy civic debate and conversation. As a service for public conversation, Twitter is committed to enabling people to make informed decisions when exercising their civic rights. As the states of Goa, Manipur, Punjab,Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand prepare for the #AssemblyElections2022, Twitter has announced a series of initiatives to empower citizens with the right knowledge before they cast their vote. These initiatives, powered by an Open Internet, are directed towards not just ensuring a high voter turnout, but also aiding in ensuring voters are involved, engaged and informed throughout the election cycle, and everyone with the Right to Vote is a #JagrukVoter.
In the first line up of initiatives, Twitter will be launching a customized emoji, which will further be supported with a notification and reminder mechanism which will allow people to voluntarily sign-up for reminders on the day voting starts. Further, a voter education quiz will engage people in Q&As, equipping them with necessary facts about the polls. Twitter will also be expanding its dedicated search prompt, powered by the Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP), to provide people with real time updates and developments on the elections from credible and authoritative sources.
Payal Kamat, Public Policy & Government, Twitter India, said, “Twitter is what’s happening, and events of political and civic significance always find a place among the conversations on the service. Public discourse is shaped by these conversations, and we recognise the responsibility that it places on us — to ensure that people are met with reliable and authentic information as they go out to vote. In line with that, we’ve been working in partnership with official authorities, including the Election Commission of India to empower every #JagrukVoter on Twitter, and we will continue to harness the power of the Open Internet to strengthen civic dialogue and encourage quality participation this election season.”
Initiatives launched by Twitter for #AssemblyElections2022
Election search prompt with the Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP)
Twitter has launched an information search prompt with the Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) and Chief Electoral Officers to make it easy to find credible and authoritative information for the #AssemblyElections2022. These prompts provide credible, authoritative sources of information when people search with related keywords on Twitter’s Explore page. The prompt will direct people to resources where they can access reliable information about candidate lists, voting dates, polling booths, and more.
In addition to English, the Search Prompt will be available in Hindi, Punjabi, and Konkani, and will be supported by several hashtags including #AssemblyPolls2022, #उत्तराखंडविधानसभाचुनाव, #उत्तरप्रदेशचुनाव२०२२, #गोवाविधानसभावेंचणूक2022, #ਪੰਜਾਬਵਿਧਾਨਸਭਾਚੋਣਾਂ2022 and #ManipurElections2022.
Custom emoji and notification campaign
Twitter has launched a special emoji to support the conversation around #AssemblyElections2022. The emoji features an index finger hovering over a list of options to vote from — conveying the voter’s power to make informed, thought-through choices.
The emoji can be activated by Tweeting with hashtags in English, Hindi, Punjabi, and Konkani with hashtags including the following:
- English: #AssemblyElections2022, #StateElections2022, #AssemblyPolls2022, #UttarPradeshElections, #UttarPradeshElections2022, #UttarakhandElections, #UttarakhandElections2022, #PunjabElections, #PunjabElections2022, #ManipurElections, #ManipurElections2022, #GoaElections, #GoaElections2022
- Hindi:#विधानसभाचुनाव, #विधानसभाचुनाव2022, #उत्तरप्रदेशविधानसभाचुनाव, #पंजाबविधानसभाचुनाव, #गोवाविधानसभाचुनाव, #मणिपुरविधानसभाचुनाव, #उत्तराखंडविधानसभाचुनाव, #उत्तरप्रदेशविधानसभाचुनाव२०२२ , #उत्तरप्रदेशचुनाव, #उत्तरप्रदेशचुनाव२०२२, #उत्तराखंडविधानसभाचुनाव२०२२, #उत्तराखंडचुनाव, #उत्तराखंडचुनाव२०२२
In addition to the emoji, Twitter will also encourage participation in the elections by running a ‘heart-to-remind’ notification campaign. People will be able to sign-up for a reminder notification by Liking the campaign Tweet and can also choose to opt out at any time by replying to the notification Tweet with #Stop. From the day voting begins, anyone who Likes the Tweet will receive a personalised notification with a reminder to vote, along with a call to action that will encourage them to Tweet their commitment to be a #JagrukVoter — further inspiring actual voter participation.
Voter education quiz to support voter literacy
Twitter will be promoting voter literacy through an engaging quiz in English and Hindi. Launching on 25 January, which is observed as National Voters Day, people on Twitter will be able to participate in the quiz by clicking on an ‘Image website card’. It will include questions about the voting process, polling booths, voter ID registration, and more. Voters will be able to respond to questions by choosing options. As they participate in the Quiz, they will also be able to view their scores as shareable scorecards which they can Tweet to participate in the conversation around #AssemblyElections2022. Through this Quiz, Twitter aims to engage voters, address information gaps, and help build a more informed public.
Twitter will also be hosting workshops and training sessions for non-profits across the five states, which will be aimed at developing literacy materials and pre-bunks to tackle misinformation around the elections.
Furthermore, in the coming weeks, Twitter would be working with various partners to line up more initiatives aimed at ensuring every voter is a #JagrukVoter. Stay tuned!