NEW DELHI: A “swadeshi” social media platform, Tooter, became a focus of attention on Tuesday after several people pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had joined the platform. The app shows the PM having a verified handle. However, the company’s process of verification is unclear.
The platform is only available on Google PlayStore, where it is rated two stars out of five. It’s description page mentions that it is based in Khammam, Telangana. Users can sign up through their Gmail or Yahoo email addresses. When TOI signed up for the platform to test it’s interface, Modi’s profile had over 158 followers and states that it was created in August.
Other notable names present on the platform include home minister Amit Shah, cricketer Virat Kohli, Nitin Gadkari, Yogi Adityanath, Smriti Irani, among others. All these accounts are ‘verified’ with a blue tick.
Tooter’s sign-up page refers to the platform as “Swadeshi Andolan 2.0”. “We believe that India should have a swadeshi social network. Without one we are just a digital colony of American Twitter India Company, no different than what we were under the British East India Company,” reads its About page.
Several people, however, pointed out the uncanny similarities between Twitter and Tooter. It’s background uses the same blue and white colour and it’s posts are called “toots”.