Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned police and government employees against making social-media reels while on duty on June 17, 2024 [2].
The directive targets a growing trend of public servants using work hours for content creation, which the administration argues compromises state authority. This move signals a tightening of conduct codes for the police force and other civil servants in India's most populous state.
Adityanath said the practice of filming short videos during working hours is indiscipline [1, 2]. He said that such behavior undermines the professionalism and the public-service ethos of the police force [2]. The warning extends beyond the police to include other government employees across the state [1, 2].
According to reports, the Chief Minister emphasized that the primary responsibility of these employees is to serve the public, not to seek social media attention. He said the focus of the administration is to maintain a disciplined environment within the government machinery [2].
"Making reels on duty is indiscipline," Adityanath said [2].
The state government has not yet specified the exact penalties for those who violate this warning, but the public nature of the directive suggests a low tolerance for future infractions. The Chief Minister's office said the move is part of a broader effort to ensure that government resources and personnel remain dedicated to their official mandates [1, 2].
“"Making reels on duty is indiscipline."”
This directive reflects a tension between the modernization of personal branding via social media and the traditional requirements of state discipline. By explicitly labeling 'reels' as indiscipline, the Uttar Pradesh government is attempting to decouple the private digital personas of its employees from their professional roles to preserve the perceived seriousness of law enforcement and public administration.
