India PM Modi stuns netizens over supposed social media hiatus

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent netizens and media publications such as BBC, CNBC and Bloomberg scrambling when he said he was giving up his social media accounts on 2 March 2020 over a tweet that garnered over a 100,000 comments.

This was met with netizens urging him to stay on. However, a day later, PM Modi clarified that the day he was giving away his social media accounts on falls on International Women’s Day and as such he would be giving away his social media accounts to women whose life and work inspires all. "This will help them ignite motivation in millions," the tweet added. 

However, this did not stop netizens and supporters from starting hashtags #IWillAlsoLeaveTwitter and #NoModiNoTwitter. A quick check by Marketing saw that netizens and fans of PM Modi were inspired to join social media due to his presence and were willing to give it up if he leaves:

The PM first took office in 2014, and is known for being an active user on social media. Modi has over 53 million followers on Twitter, and updates on schemes and announcements through his social media profiles. Most recently, the Indian PM also made global headlines as American president Donald Trump visited India. 

(Photo courtesy: Modi's Facebook page)

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