Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath warned that police personnel creating social-media reels during duty hours is an act of indiscipline [1].
The warning addresses a growing trend of law enforcement officers using official time to produce short-form content. This practice is viewed as a threat to the professional image of the police force and a distraction from public safety duties.
Adityanath said that police personnel making reels on duty amounts to indiscipline [2]. The Chief Minister said that such behavior undermines the professionalism and discipline required of the force [1].
The directive targets the use of smartphones for entertainment and social media engagement while officers are expected to be performing their official roles. By framing the issue as a matter of discipline, the state government is signaling a zero-tolerance approach to digital distractions in the workplace.
"Cops making reels on duty is indiscipline," Adityanath said [1].
The Chief Minister's comments come as a response to the increasing visibility of police-created content on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. While some agencies use social media for public outreach, the state leadership distinguishes between official communication and personal content creation during work hours.
This move is intended to ensure that the focus of the Uttar Pradesh police remains on maintaining law and order rather than digital fame. The government believes that the integrity of the uniform must be preserved against the influence of social media trends [2].
“"Cops making reels on duty is indiscipline"”
This directive reflects a broader tension between the digitalization of public service and the traditional requirements of paramilitary discipline. By explicitly labeling social media use as 'indiscipline,' the Uttar Pradesh government is attempting to decouple the personal branding of individual officers from the institutional authority of the state police force.
