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<ul><li><keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword> spent over ₹1.5 crore across 285 ads on Facebook and Instagram between February 15 and May 15.</li><li>Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Uttar Pradesh (UP) was the second highest spender on Facebook ads in the last three months.</li><li>Uttar Pradesh continues to be the biggest source of ad revenue for Facebook, the data shared by Ad Library shows.</li></ul>Homegrown microblogging app Koo has been spending more than the Uttar Pradesh (UP) division of ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Facebook advertisements in the last three months. A quick study of the Facebook Ads Library <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/report/?source=archive-landing-page&amp;country=IN">revealed</a> that Koo spent over ₹1.5 crore across 285 ads on Facebook and Instagram between February 15 and May 15. It was followed by <keyword id="1740093" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bjp-up" source="Orion">BJP UP</keyword>, which spent ₹1.4 crore across 1,301 ads in the same time frame. But it is to be noted here that while Koo spent the amount on a national campaign, UP BJP spent almost the same amount on a single Indian state. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Uttar Pradesh is the biggest source of ad revenue for Facebook" comment="subhead" text="Uttar Pradesh is the biggest source of ad revenue for Facebook">Uttar Pradesh is the biggest source of ad revenue for Facebook</cmsannotation> BJP UP is the highest spender on Facebook ads in the state. UP went for its assembly elections between February 10 and March 7 leading to BJP’s aggressive spends in the closely contested election. According to a previous report by Business Insider, BJP had spent over<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/bjp-up-has-spent-over-3-crore-on-facebook-ads-last-month-congress-spent-6-lakh/articleshow/89750791.cms"> ₹3 crore on Facebook ads</a> in UP between January 21 to February 19. This was nearly half of the total ₹7.5 crore — the highest among all states — spent on Facebook and Instagram ads in the Uttar Pradesh regions in the same time frame. Uttar Pradesh continues to be the biggest source of ad revenue for Facebook, the data shared by Ad Library shows. It is followed by the Punjab region, which accounted to only a third of the amount spent on ads in Uttar Pradesh. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">State </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amount spent on Facebook ads between Feb 15-May 15 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Top advertiser </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Uttar Pradesh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹6.6 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) UP </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Punjab region </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹2.2 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Maharashtra </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1.3 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Miracles Academy of Arts &amp; Media </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gujarat </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹0.65 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Koo </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Karnataka </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹0.65 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Koo </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Madhya Pradesh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹0.63 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Koo </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Delhi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹0.62 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Samajwadi Party </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Rajasthan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹0.62 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Koo </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Facebook Ads Library While BJP UP focused solely on Uttar Pradesh, Koo has been running nationwide advertising campaigns for quite some time. Koo — the Indian rival of Twitter — has been among the top three advertisers in the top eight states, according to Facebook Ads Library. Apart from Koo and BJP UP, Hindu Publicvibe and Samajwadi Party were the third and the fourth biggest spender of Facebook ads nationally. However, most of these ads were targeted towards people living in Uttar Pradesh. <div type="image" title="Twitter’s rival is spending more than Uttar Pradesh BJP on FB ads - but UP’s ad pie has been growing" msid="91660706" hostid="261"></div> Overall, ₹189 crore has been spent on Facebook and Instagram ads since February 2019, when Facebook started publishing its ads library data publicly. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/heatwave-has-turned-acs-from-a-luxury-to-a-necessity-but-margins-remain-muted-for-the-players/articleshow/91655568.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Heatwave has turned ACs from a luxury to a necessity — but margins remain muted for the players</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-russia-has-no-money-to-pay-salaries-to-its-100-employees-heads-for-bankruptcy/articleshow/91658749.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Google Russia has no money to pay salaries to its 100 employees, heads for bankruptcy </a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-vs-bharti-airtel-four-charts-to-showcase-how-indian-telecom-giants-faired-in-2022/slidelist/91640306.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Reliance Jio Vs Bharti Airtel — Four Charts That Showcase How The Indian Telecom Giants Faired In 2022</a>

The state of Uttar Pradesh and how it’s been feeding Facebook ad revenues

<ul><li><keyword id="3518161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo" source="Orion">Koo</keyword> has spent 65% of its total Facebook ad spends transactions in the last 90 days.</li><li>The company aims to close 2021 with 100 million users registered to the platform, Koo co-founder said.</li><li>Koo currently has over 14 million app downloads, a 10x increase since September last year.</li></ul>Social media app Koo started with a big bang, garnering interest from users, investors and in some cases even government officials. The company sprung up in March 2020 as Twitter’s Indian alternative and started gaining momentum in June last year, as relations between Twitter and the Indian government started straining. After 18 months, 14 million downloads and $34 million (₹255 crore) in fundraising, Koo is now splurging on Facebook ads to get more users on board and take on Twitter that has <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/242606/number-of-active-twitter-users-in-selected-countries/">22 million</a> users in India. The company has spent a little over ₹2.4 crore on Facebook ads in the last 90 days, according to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&amp;ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&amp;country=IN&amp;view_all_page_id=101044114877636&amp;search_type=page&amp;media_type=all">Facebook Ad Library</a>. That’s ₹80 lakh a month and ₹2.6 lakh a day, making Koo the top spender on Facebook in the last three months. These ads were run across Facebook-owned platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and its audience network. Interestingly, this is 65% of the total marketing expense (₹3.7 crore) Koo has made on the Facebook app since its inception in March 2020. It seems to be working because the Koo app was downloaded over 3.3 million times between July 8 to October 5, as per App Annie report accessed by Business Insider. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Timeline </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ad spent </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">App Downloads </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">March 2020-October 5, 2021 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹3.78 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">14.3 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 90 days (July 8-October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹2.4 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3.3 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 30 days (September 6 - October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹78 lakh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1 million </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Last 7 days (September 29 - October 5, 2021) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹12.7 lakh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">230,000 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> The app was downloaded 3.5 million times between July 1 to October 5, which is 5 lakh lower than April to June quarter. Please note that not all these downloads were generated through ads, some of them maybe organic as well. <div type="image" title="Koo is spending ₹2.6 lakh a day on Facebook to beat Twitter" msid="86868782" hostid="261"></div> Koo was co-founded by Aprameya Radhakrishna and Mayank Bidawatka, who previously founded a Q&amp;A platform Vokal. The company wa founded to enable Indian users to converse freely in their local languages, which is not that widespread on Twitter. Koo currently has over 1.43 crore (or 14 million) downloads on its app, as per the App Annie analysis. This represents over 10 times increase from 17 lakh (1.7 million) downloads in September last year. The company, however, has set up higher targets for itself. “Our objective is to be extremely inclusive as a product and as a philosophy, so that every Indian is comfortable voicing their opinions. We want to get to 250 million users a month. We want to reach 100 million users by the end of the year, and I am as confident as an entrepreneur can be that we will reach there,”<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/ad-tech/article/i-am-confident-we-will-get-to-100-million-users-by-the-end-of-this-year-mayank-bidawatka-koo/articleshow/81210997.cms"> Bidawatka told</a> Business Insider earlier in February this year. As a part of its strategy, Koo is available in 10 local languages — Hindi, English, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, among others. It plans to add 15 more languages to its platform to attract more customers. The company is backed by the who's who of the tech world including Tiger Global, Mirae Asset Capital, Coinbase’s former chief technology officer (CTO) Balaji S. Srinivasan, Ashish Hemrajani of BookMyShow, Vivekananda Hallekere of Bounce and Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath. Koo is currently available in India as well as Nigeria, which banned Twitter earlier this year. Some prominent Indian personalities using Koo app are Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tata-sons-buy-air-india-for-2-39-billion-from-the-indian-government/articleshow/86867529.cms">Tata Sons buys ‘Maharaja’ for $2.39 billion from the Indian government</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-announces-cashback-of-6000-free-one-time-screen-replacement-on-purchase-of-new-devices/articleshow/86865821.cms">Airtel announces cashback of ₹6,000, free one-time screen replacement on purchase of new devices</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tata-motors-titan-ongc-bandhan-bank-and-bosch-stand-out-this-week-with-over-10-rallies/slidelist/86866914.cms">Tata Motors, Titan, ONGC, Bandhan Bank and Bosch stand out this week with over 10% rallies</a>

Koo is spending ₹2.6 lakh a day on Facebook to beat Twitter

<ul><li>Spiritual leader Sadhguru and his non-profit organisation Isha Outreach is India’s largest advertiser on Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram for social and political causes. </li><li>Sadhguru and Isha Outreach spent ₹1.35 lakhs per day on Facebook and Instagram in the last quarter, amounting to ad spends of ₹1,20,91,079.</li><li>After Sadhuguru, micro-blogging platform Koo and OTT player Voot Select were the largest spenders of advertising monies on Meta platforms.</li></ul>Spiritual leader Jagadish Vasudev, more popularly known as Sadhguru, and his non-profit organisation Isha Outreach spent ₹1.35 lakhs per day on Facebook and Instagram advertising between April 27 and July 25. According to a recent report released by Hyderabad-based enterprise digital marketing agency Pyrite Technologies, Sadhguru and Isha Outreach's Conscious Planet are India’s largest advertisers on Meta platforms in social and political causes category. They spent a total of 1.20 crores on Facebook and Instagram. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is an Indian yoga guru. He has more than 8.5 million followers on Instagram, 5.2 million fans on Facebook and 3.9 million followers on Twitter. Sadhuguru's Isha Foundation, according to its website, is also associated with a bouquet of business enterprises such as Isha Raiment, Isha Foods and Spices, Isha Crafts, Isha Naturo Organic Solutions, to mention a few. Following Sadhguru on the largest advertisers list is micro-blogging platform Koo. It spent almost ₹87 lakh on Meta in the 90-day period. Launched in 2019, Koo recently raised ₹79 crore from Caspier Venture Partner, Ashneer Grover and Ravi Modi Family Trust. <div type="image" title="Sadhguru gfx" msid="93287319" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Pyrite&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> India’s third largest advertiser, as per Pyrite, is OTT platform Voot Select with ad spends of ₹67 lakh. Voot Select is business tycoon Mukesh Ambani-led Viacom18’s subscription-based streaming platform. Political parties Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and BJP Gujarat also appeared on the list of top Indian advertisers on Meta. It is pertinent to note that as per India's advertising rules, not all Indian brands are not obliged to declare their spends as they don’t fall <a href="https://e4mevents.com/pitch-madison-advertising-report-2021/public/PMAR-Report-2021.pdf" data-type="tilCustomLink">under social causes category.</a> Between April 27 and July 25, Meta saw more than 12,863 advertisers from India and collected ₹13.94 crores in advertising revenues. As per analytics platform <a href="https://napoleoncat.com/stats/facebook-users-in-india/2022/07/">Napolean Cat,</a> there were 515,800,000 Facebook users in India in July 2022, which accounted for 36.2% of its entire population. The growing number of advertisers and users in India makes the country a <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/268136/top-15-countries-based-on-number-of-facebook-users/#:~:text=Apart%20from%20India%2C%20there%20are,116%20million%20Facebook%20users%20respectively.">top </a>market for Facebook.

Sadhguru and Isha Outreach are India’s biggest advertisers on Meta for social causes: They spent ₹1.35 lakhs per day on Facebook and Instagram

<ul><li>Following incidents of showdown against <keyword id="3225532" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Social-media-companies">social media companies</keyword>, the Indian government could be gearing up to bring amendments in its laws.</li><li>These proposed amendments to <keyword id="6363148" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="information-technology">Information Technology</keyword> (<keyword id="7206149" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Intermediary-Guidelines">Intermediary Guidelines</keyword>) Rules, 2011 could reportedly obligate social media companies to remove ‘unlawful’ content within 36 hours of an order of a court or the government.</li><li>The government could also seek these companies to set up automated tools to remove ‘unlawful’ content.</li></ul>India is reportedly gearing up to announce new policies to require <keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword>, <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> and other social media companies to remove ‘unlawful’ content within 36 hours of orders issued by a court or the government. According to a report by <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/social-media-companies-may-get-just-36-hours-to-junk-unlawful-posts/articleshow/81100874.cms">The Times of India</a>, the proposed amendments bring down the time limit to remove content from 72 hours to 36 hours. This is aimed at being more responsive when it comes to requests made by users. The amendments are being made to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011. A summary of the existing guidelines can be read on <a href="https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/draft-information-technology-intermediaries-guidelines-amendment-rules-2018">PRS Legislative Research</a>. “36 hours is adequate time and in line with global standards to initiate a takedown on the part of intermediaries,” Simranjeet Singh, Partner, Athena Legal, told Business Insider. “It has consistently been argued by the intermediaries that they can immediately take down content post receiving actual knowledge of any illegal acts being perpetrated on their platforms,” he further added. “<keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> will respect the laws of the land. We understand the importance of freedom of speech and at the same time we also understand the need to operate within the legal boundaries of our country of operation. Policies around social media are welcome because they make some of the nebulous things around what's acceptable and what's not, legally known and enforced. This reduces the vagueness around clear actions that need to be taken by platforms,” said Mayank Bidawatka, Co founder, Koo, the new <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/as-twitter-engages-in-a-firefight-with-the-indian-government-homegrown-rival-koo-crosses-4-million-users-within-10-months-of-launch/articleshow/81090246.cms">upcoming Indian alternative to Twitter</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Who are these intermediaries?" comment="subhead" text="Who are these intermediaries?">Who are these intermediaries?</cmsannotation> Intermediaries here refers to social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp among others. The report states that the government may require companies with over 50 lakh users to have an office in India and appoint an officer to coordinate with the law enforcement agencies when required. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What is ‘unlawful’ content?" comment="subhead" text="What is ‘unlawful’ content?">What is ‘unlawful’ content?</cmsannotation> Unlawful content, as defined under Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011, includes content that is harmful, harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, obscene, infringes on copyright or patent, or violates any law for the time being in force. A detailed reading can be obtained <a href="https://www.meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/GSR314E_10511%281%29_0.pdf">here</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Obligating intermediaries to remove unlawful content" comment="subhead" text="Obligating intermediaries to remove unlawful content">Obligating intermediaries to remove unlawful content</cmsannotation> According to the report, the government may push social media companies to identify the source of unlawful content to allow the law enforcement agencies to take action against them. The proposed amendments in intermediary guidelines come at a time when Twitter has been caught in the middle of a battle between activists and protestors, and the Indian government. It is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/twitter-faces-a-political-disaster-in-india-where-its-taking-heat-from-both-the-government-and-protesters-over-the-suspension-of-accounts/articleshow/80790166.cms">facing heat from both protestors as well as the government</a> due to how it has dealt with content on its platform around topics related to the farmer protests. The proposed guidelines will obligate social media companies to create automated tools for “proactively identifying and removing or disabling public access to such information or content”, the report added. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Setting up a grievance redressal portal to address user complaints" comment="subhead" text="Setting up a grievance redressal portal to address user complaints">Setting up a grievance redressal portal to address user complaints</cmsannotation> According to another report by <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/social-media-moderation-government-plans-new-platform-to-flag-online-posts-101613680077473.html">Hindustan Times</a> quoting anonymous sources, the government could set up a dedicated grievance redressal portal. This would allow social media users to lodge their complaints, which would then have to be addressed by the social media companies. This could be along the lines of <a href="https://pgportal.gov.in/">PG Portal</a>, a dedicated grievance redressal mechanism that covers services provided by the government or public sector undertakings like the India Post, BSNL, and others. According to <a href="https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1694783">data</a> released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, over 93,000 cases of cybercrime were registered from 2017 to 2019. The government already has a portal for reporting cybercrime and fraud at cybercrime.gov.in. However, a revamp that would make it easier for victims to get these complaints addressed could prove to be helpful. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/supreme-court-tells-indian-government-and-twitter-to-find-a-way-to-curb-hate-speech-online-and-shut-down-fake-accounts/articleshow/80876338.cms">Supreme Court tells Indian government and Twitter to find a way to curb hate speech online and shut down fake accounts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/twitter-faces-a-political-disaster-in-india-where-its-taking-heat-from-both-the-government-and-protesters-over-the-suspension-of-accounts/articleshow/80790166.cms">Twitter faces a political disaster in India, where it's taking heat from both the government and protesters over the suspension of accounts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/twitter-suspends-90-95-of-accounts-listed-by-indian-government/articleshow/80892372.cms">Twitter suspends 90-95% of accounts listed by Indian government</a>

India may require Twitter, Facebook and others to remove unlawful content within 36 hours

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> has been in a standoff in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> over censoring accounts amid huge anti-government protests.</li><li><keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>'s Government has backed <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword>, an app so similar to Twitter it even has a bird logo.</li><li>The "free expression" app, which has been accused of hosting hate speech, doesn't moderate content.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-government-attack-us-celebrities-backing-farmer-protests-burn-effigies-2021-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">India's farmers' protests</a> put Twitter in a censorship standoff with the Indian Government, which reacted by backing "Koo", the app mimics tweets and says it has no plans to moderate its content.Koo is just 10 months old. But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-twitters-india-standoff-dragged-in-journalists-and-activists-2021-2">Twitter's refusal to block accounts supporting the protests outside Delhi </a>- where tens of thousands farmers have come to global attention in their bitter, at times violent, demonstrations against new agriculture laws - has been its making.Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministers were among those encouraging people in the world's second-fastest growing internet economy to switch to Koo. It crossed more than 4.1 million downloads in two weeks in February and has secured $4.1 million in funding.Celebrities, politicians, and right-wing publications are now "Kooing". Even the yellow bird logo and the name - Koo is a bird's sound in Hindi - emphasize its desire to challenge Twitter. Some even cheekily used Tweets to announce their new Koo profiles."I am now on Koo," says <a href="https://twitter.com/PiyushGoyal/status/1359058583934013442">the pinned tweet</a> of Piyush Goyal, India's minister of railways, commerce, and industry who has more than 9.5 million followers on Twitter. "Connect with me on this Indian micro-blogging platform for real-time, exciting, and exclusive updates."According to mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower, Koo's downloads soared by 159.9% on February 9, the day Goyal endorsed it.This was on top of a 186.8% jump in downloads the previous day, triggered when Twitter published <a href="https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/tweet-withheld-by-country">a defiant response</a> to the government.<div type="image" title="Koo account" height="1200" width="1696" msid="81278576" hostid="261"></div>"We strongly believe that the open and free exchange of information has a positive global impact," Twitter wrote, "and that the Tweets must continue to flow." The surge put Koo at the top of the app charts. Koo was founded in the southern city of Bangalore by Aprameya Radhakrishna, who sold his cab-hailing startup for $200 million to Uber's biggest rival in India, and Mayank Bidawatka, a serial entrepreneur.At first glance, the similarities with Twitter are remarkable. Koo lets you follow people, read updates in a reverse-chronological feed, add and track hashtags, post a "Koo" in up to 350 characters, attach media, and respond to and like other people's Koos.But Koo has features, unavailable on Twitter, that are tailored to the Indian market. it is compatible with a handful of Indian languages and lets people filter out content by their chosen language, which helps in a country where only 10% of the population speaks English.<div type="image" title="Koo as it appears in the Google Play Store" height="1120" width="1434" msid="81278578" hostid="261"></div>It also has a dedicated button for forwarding "Koos" to WhatsApp, India's most popular messaging app.But arguably what truly sets this social network apart is its lack of content moderation. Its homepage invites people to "join India's best minds that speak their mind".Its founders say they won't govern their network the way the likes of Twitter and Facebook currently struggle to do. Instead, when Koo discovers any post that can be deemed unlawful, it will hand it over to the government for action."We don't govern. Why should we govern? It's a free-expression platform," <a href="https://restofworld.org/2021/how-koo-became-a-right-wing-darling-in-india/">Radhakrishna recently said</a>, "We're not the ones to take action. There's an elected government. Irrespective of who runs the government in the future ... If it's going to lead to violence, we'll cooperate with the government."The Indian government meanwhile has pulled out all the stops to make Twitter fall in line, with Koo effectively becoming a weapon in the fight. Twitter has since agreed to comply partially with India's banning order, suspending more than 500 accounts. Challenging Twitter is no easy feat - it has 340 million users worldwide. In late November, another Twitter-esque app called Tooter got a lot of attention. Its brash "About" page likened Twitter's dominance in India to the British Empire in the days before independence. But the absence of diverse voices meant its early adopters soon left.<div type="image" title="Koo homepage" height="1124" width="1800" msid="81278580" hostid="261"></div>Modi's government's endorsement of Koo has made it particularly inviting to India's right-wing and supporters of the governing party.Nikhil Pahwa, a digital rights activist and founder of tech policy publication MediaNama, posted on Koo about the internet shutdowns authorities imposed to disrupt the protests and was soon flooded with "hateful comments and responses," he told Insider. Pahwa said he found Koo's approach to moderating "extremely problematic." "To allow any platform that just gives a wholesale licence to the government to censor our speech is not a platform worth being on," he said. This has led many to draw parallels between Koo and <keyword id="9465142" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="parler">Parler</keyword>, a US-based "free-speech social network" that grew after Twitter began censoring and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-twitter-ban-wont-be-lifted-if-runs-president-again-2021-2">eventually banned former President Donald Trump</a>.Radhakrishna has dismissed the comparison, telling tech blog Rest Of World that Parler was a "pro-Trump thing", adding, "We are existing today irrespective of whether Twitter gets into trouble or not, irrespective of one ideology being there or not. We exist because we want to give a voice to every Indian."But while <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parler-website-is-back-online-2021-1">Parler has struggled</a>, Koo might thrive under India's current administration. Modi has made the "Make in India" campaign his party's centerpiece and has rolled out policies that promote domestic manufacturing and Indian startups.The government is reportedly developing a range of homegrown apps aimed at eventually replacing Western services like WhatsApp, Zoom, and of course, Twitter.China has already gone down this road with apps such as TikTok and WeChat. Will India follow? "I know that the Indian government has China envy," Pahwa said. "They want to exercise the kind of control that the Chinese government does over speech and over technology in its country. "But I sure hope India doesn't become like that."Koo did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Koo, the 'free expression' social media app, is the Indian government's latest weapon in its standoff with Twitter

<keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword> banned two million Indian accounts while it received 345 grievance reports between May 15 and June 15, the company said in its maiden monthly compliance report as mandated by the IT rules. The new IT rules require large digital platforms -- with over five million users -- to publish compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken. "Our top focus is preventing accounts from sending harmful or unwanted messages at scale. We maintain advanced capabilities to identify these accounts sending a high or abnormal rate of messages and banned two million accounts in India alone from May 15-June 15 attempting this kind of abuse," WhatsApp said on Thursday. WhatsApp clarified that more than 95 per cent of such bans are due to the unauthorised use of automated or bulk messaging (spam). "We expect to publish subsequent editions of the report 30-45 days after the reporting period to allow sufficient time for data collection and validation," WhatsApp said in the report. The Facebook-owned company explained that the number of accounts banned have risen significantly since 2019 as the sophistication of systems has increased, and "so we are catching more accounts even as we believe there are more attempts to send bulk or automated messages". The vast majority of these accounts are banned proactively, without relying on any user reports, it added. About eight million accounts are banned/disabled globally on an average per month. WhatsApp said besides the behavioural signals from accounts, it relies on available "unencrypted information" including user reports, profile photos, group photos and descriptions as well as advanced AI tools and resources to detect and prevent abuse on its platform. In the report, WhatsApp said it had received 345 reports in total, cutting across categories such as ban appeal, account support, product support, safety issues and others. Against this, 63 accounts were "actioned" by WhatsApp during May 15-June 15, 2021. WhatsApp said user reports received by the platform via the grievance <keyword id="11650763" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="channel/s">channel/s</keyword> are evaluated and responded to. Majority of users who reach out to WhatsApp are either aiming to have their account restored following an action to ban them or reaching out for product or account support, it added. 'Accounts Actioned' denotes reports where WhatsApp took remedial action based on the report. Taking action denotes either banning an account or a previously banned account being restored as a result of the complaint. The IT rules -- which came into effect on May 26 -- mandate that significant digital platforms include the number of specific communication links or parts of information they proactively remove by using automated tools. Other platforms like <keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword>, Koo and <keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> have already submitted their compliance reports. Instagram and <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> have also submitted their reports. The IT rules have been designed to prevent abuse and misuse of digital platforms, and offer users a robust forum for grievance redressal. Under these rules, social media companies will have to take down flagged content within 36 hours, and remove within 24 hours content that is flagged for nudity and pornography. The rules also mandate appointment of three key personnel -- grievance officer, chief compliance officer and nodal officer. These officials need to be residents in India. Non-compliance with the IT rules would result in these platforms losing their intermediary status that provides them immunity from liabilities over any third-party data hosted by them. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tatva-chintan-pharma-chem-ipo-heres-how-to-apply-via-banks-and-apps-like-zerodha-upstox/articleshow/84462586.cms">Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem IPO: Here’s how to apply via banks and apps like Zerodha, Upstox</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/wipro-hires-12000-employees-in-june-quarter-highest-in-decade/articleshow/84445858.cms">Wipro's hiring at highest in a decade to hedge against employees leaving</a>

WhatsApp banned two million Indian accounts during May 15-June 15 period

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <keyword id="17555" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="nightclub">nightclub</keyword> in <keyword id="77570" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Netherlands">the Netherlands</keyword> reopened to guests on Saturday with a new format to keep crowds at bay.</li><li>For the duration of June, dancers can enjoy music and strobe lights at the club, Doornroosje, while seated in distanced chairs.</li><li>Thirty guests are allowed in the club at a time in compliance with local public health guidelines.</li><li>"People really enjoyed being in our venue again and just having a little taste of the atmosphere and the loud music," the club's marketing manager told Insider.</li></ul>One <a href="https://www.insider.com/radio-city-rockettes-free-dance-lessons-at-home-2020-4">dance</a> club in the Netherlands is welcoming guests who are craving a taste of <a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-drive-thru-experiences-around-the-world-2020-5">nightlife</a>, with one exception: All <keyword id="4203" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="dancing">dancing</keyword> has to be done while sitting down.The club, <a href="https://www.doornroosje.nl/update-covid-19-maatregelen/">Doornroosje</a>, which translates to "Sleeping Beauty," reopened its doors on Saturday after being temporarily shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.Doornroosje, located in the city of Nijmegen, is requiring guests to <keyword id="6355317" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dance">dance</keyword> while seated in chairs that have been spaced out 5 feet from one another in compliance with the country's public health guidelines, the club's marketing manager, Koos Hornman, told Insider.This month, 30 guests are allowed in at a time, which is in line with <a href="https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/tackling-new-coronavirus-in-the-netherlands/public-life">the Netherlands' current limit on in-person gatherings.</a><div type="image" title="dutch nightclub social distancing dance floor" height="3368" width="4491" msid="76289179" hostid="261"></div>Doornroosje's reopening event on Saturday included eight sets from DJs and musicians, with each set lasting 20 minutes. Tickets for the event, which were sold for 10 euros (around $11.35) each, were available for individual sets.All proceeds benefited the artists who performed, Hornman said."For us, this was all about bringing artists and visitors together again, making them happy with some live music," Hornman said. "Part of it is also a statement of how this 'new normal' [changes] the nightlife scene."<div type="image" title="dutch nightclub social distancing dance floor" height="3435" width="4580" msid="76289188" hostid="261"></div>Originally, Doornroosje owners planned to let guests dance while standing as long as they were distanced from one another, but government officials ordered the club to set up chairs on the dance floor.In addition, instead of the club opening at its traditional after-dark hours, Doornroosje has changed its hours to open in the afternoon, which offers guests a mid-day dance break."Sitting in this setting is, and looks, very strange," Hornman said. "However, people really enjoyed being in our venue again and just having a little taste of the atmosphere and the loud music."<div type="image" title="dutch nightclub social distancing dance floor" height="3538" width="4717" msid="76289191" hostid="261"></div>Just as other <a href="https://www.insider.com/coronavirus-virtual-rave-berlin-club-experience-2020-3">nightclubs have livestreamed DJ performances and raves</a> while venues were closed during the pandemic, Doornroosje also shared virtual versions of its recent social distancing-style dance session on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/doornroosjenl/">Facebook</a>.However, in-person attendees who returned to the popular club after its hiatus seemed to enjoy the experience — chair-dancing and all.Hornman said that Doornrosje may have waited to open until local authorities allowed the venue to let guests stand, but that trying something new has already proven worthwhile."It's part of trying new ideas to see what's possible instead of waiting for this thing to pass by," Hornman said. "And it was a lot of fun."Hornman added: "There were all happy faces after 20 minutes."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-show-creative-ways-people-used-balconies-during-lockdown-2020-4">From drag shows to nightclubs, 17 photos show the creative ways people are using their balconies during lockdown</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/maryland-restaurant-giant-inner-tubes-customers-social-distancing-2020-5">A Maryland restaurant purchased 'bumper tables' that look like giant inner tubes to keep customers 6 feet apart</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/amsterdam-restaurant-mini-greenhouses-cubicles-social-distance-2020-5">A restaurant in Amsterdam built small greenhouses for diners to enjoy a meal in while social distancing</a></li></ul>

A Dutch nightclub is now allowing guests to 'dance' while seated in chairs

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>A little over a year ago, Jim Heckman was sermonizing about his plan to save the publishing industry from Facebook.</li><li>Now, after overseeing deep cuts at Sports Illustrated, he just might be one of the most-despised men in sports <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword>.</li><li>Heckman isn't done, though. He wants to add a news site to his portfolio.</li><li>But he's funded his latest startup Maven with massive amounts of debt financing, a type of funding that typically comes at a high cost, and raising money for media generally is getting harder.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>A little over a year ago, Jim Heckman was sermonizing from a mountaintop in Canada about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/digital-media-veteran-heckman-spent-350000-to-recruit-publishers-2018-4">his plan to save the publishing industry from Facebook</a>.Now, he just might be one of the most-despised men in sports media.Heckman is a serial entrepreneur who's started and sold various digital ad and media companies over the years. His latest is two-year-old Maven, a tech and ad platform he pitches as a way to help niche publishers claw back some of the digital ad revenue from Facebook.&#xa0;Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/all-three-companies-do-the-same-thing-digital-publishing-mashup-maven-cut-5-million-and-laid-off-17-say-media-staffers-to-reach-profitability-2018-8">'All three companies do the same thing:' Digital publishing mashup Maven cut $5 million and laid off 17 Say Media staffers to reach profitability</a>The platform flew under the radar when it was just a coalition of mostly obscure publishers like Mom Trends and horseandrider.com. But then Maven took over Sports Illustrated's media operation last week and laid off 40 of the 150-person staff and announced plans to use contractors to supplement the permanent staff.Employees of the publication took the dramatic step of putting out a statement begging SI's former and new owner, Meredith and Authentic Brands Group (ABG), to save them, saying they questioned Maven's ability to manage the iconic magazine.&#xa0;The next day, the reliably scathing Deadspin dropped a 4,000-plus word <a href="https://deadspin.com/inside-themavens-plan-to-turn-sports-illustrated-into-a-1838756286">takedown</a>&#xa0;calling Heckman a "notorious scumbag" who's "gutting and reinventing a revered publication." The New York Post called the layoffs "brutal."On Twitter, the insults flew.&#xa0;"In sports media, I find it impossible to believe there is a more despicable awful person than Jim Heckman," tweeted Brian Snow, an analyst for 247Sports, a network of sports sites owned by CBSInteractive.Heckman chafed at the article and lamented that his 80-year-old father had to see it."We spent a year on this, we made the move, we were literally sitting around [waiting] for the nasty stories," he told Business Insider. "'Okay, well, who's going to hit first?' And, you know, we thought tomatoes would be thrown at us."<h2>Media is in a panicky time</h2>These are jittery times for the media business. Venture capitalists poured money into new media companies, only for many of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-mic-sold-to-bustle-2018-12">those companies to collapse</a>, resulting in thousands of job losses this year alone and leaving others worried for their future. Companies are dumping magazines with rich legacies and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-refinery29-ended-up-selling-to-vice-media-2019-10">digital startups are being sold for a fraction</a> of their onetime value.&#xa0;Sports Illustrated's situation was especially bizarre. Meredith inherited it as part of its purchase of Time Inc., but SI, along with Time and Fortune, didn't fit with Meredith's portfolio of women's magazines.&#xa0;Moguls swooped in to rescue journalistic treasures like Time and Fortune. But there would be no such billionaire to step forward to buy Sports Illustrated, which, despite its proud history in sports journalism, doesn't have quite the same image-burnishing cache. Long story short, Meredith sold it to ABG, a branding, marketing and entertainment company. ABG doesn't have experience running media, so it licensed the operation to Maven.&#xa0;Now SI is in the hands of Heckman and his longtime pal and business collaborator <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-los-angeles-times-ceo-ross-levinsohn-addresses-metoo-type-claims-2019-2">Ross Levinsohn, whose pasts are littered with controversies</a> including accusations of financial mismanagement in Heckman's case and inappropriate workplace behavior in Levinsohn's case that have been chronicled by <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/03/09/591481302/startups-deals-parties-and-pals-will-news-exec-levinsohn-repeat-the-past">NPR</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-ross-levinsons-tenure-la-times-ceo-ended-after-5-months-2019-2">others</a>.<h2>Shiny suits, Russian connections</h2>Many in the media establishment turn up their noses at Heckman, with his shiny suits, Russian financial connections, and party life documented in photos online."I think people were expecting some kind of white knight to save SI," said Ben Koo, who runs Awful Announcing, a sports blog, and who has followed Heckman's media career from the sidelines. "They've gone through a lot of bad things. So it's a double shot of bad news."Heckman has a history of starting and selling companies - often with help from Levinsohn - and leaving a trail of failed companies and accusations of malfeasance.He raised $70 million in venture capital to found Rivals.com, an online sports network, in 1998, but it <a href="https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Venture-Capital-Rivals-com-is-dead-long-live-1053237.php">collapsed in the dot-com bubble.</a>In 2001, Heckman went on to start Scout Media, <a href="https://gigaom.com/2005/08/04/fox-interactive-acquires-sports-operator-scout-media/">raising $6 million</a>. In 2005, Levinsohn, then heading Fox Interactive, led the purchase of Scout Media for a reported $60 million. Heckman bought back Scout in 2013 and it <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/scout-media-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy-1481321780">went bankrupt</a> three years later.In 2009, he helped start 5to1, an online ad sales platform, raising $19.3 million from Fuse Capital and Prism Venture Management, among others. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/03/09/591481302/startups-deals-parties-and-pals-will-news-exec-levinsohn-repeat-the-past">In another Levinsohn-encouraged deal</a>, Yahoo bought it in 2011 for $28 million.<h2>Heckman has a plan</h2>To hear Heckman tell it, his experience has been one success after another, and that now he's going to apply that digital media know-how to fix Sports Illustrated.The case he's been making while doing the rounds with media reporters this past two weeks is that SI is in terrible financial shape after years of being neglected by its past corporate parents and leapfrogged by nimbler digital rivals. Scribbling his plan on a piece of paper, he said he sees a "big opportunity to correct the deficiencies."&#xa0;His goal is to double revenue to $40 million and traffic to 30 million unique users by the end of 2020."Their strategy for content has not worked," he said. "Their journalists are good, but nobody's reading their stuff. The company was nose-diving into oblivion. Their users have collapsed to 17 million, their print distribution is below 2 million. So, when people are saying, 'Save it,' can you imagine, 'Hey, here's our plan, we're going to keep doing the same thing?' I mean, it's comical."We're on a hiring frenzy right now. You're going to see press releases. We're going to try to bring SI back to its glory. We put a big, six-figure offer out to one of the top journalists of America yesterday. I think he's going to take it."Heckman has a point that SI has seen better days. Like the rest of print publishing, it's fought for relevance in the digital era.It also doesn't help that Sports Illustrated has to fight comparisons with The Athletic, a heavily funded and fast-growing string of subscription sports sites. But there's no guarantee that company will hit its lofty goals, either.But the contributor model he's proposing -- which echoes one Levinsohn planned to try at The Los Angeles Times - is the product of a bygone era that publishers and advertisers have moved on from.And Maven, precariously, relies on online <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword> for the vast majority of its revenue and has yet to become sustainable, according to a recent SEC filing.<h2>Will a news site be next?</h2>With TheStreet and Sports Illustrated under his belt, Heckman isn't done. He's now on the hunt for a news site to round out the offering."You know, if you're an ad agency or consumer, I think those are national pillars of journalism. And so, we want to make sure that we control the quality and get behind some brands. So we're looking for a news brand," he said.But Heckman's more recent sources of money have been unconventional. He's funded Maven's acquisitions - which included Say Media, TheStreet for $16 million, and a $45 million payment to ABG - with massive amounts of debt financing, a type of funding that typically comes at a high cost, by a subsidiary of a firm that's little-known in media circles, B Riley Financial.Before Scout went bankrupt, Heckman's board forced him out in 2016, accusing him of using company money for his personal use, and Heckman <a href="https://awfulannouncing.com/2016/jim-heckman-out-at-scout-product-team-quits-en-masse-blames-russian-investors.html/2">talked of "Russian investors"</a> that brought down the company.According to Heckman, Scout itself was actually doing just fine; it was Bob Pittman's North American Membership Group which joined with Scout to buy it back from Fox that was failing, leading to money and a messy situation with the Russians.&#xa0;"Now with Trump, people know better," Heckman said of the decision to take that money. "This was when Russians were buying things like crazy. It was easy money. It came in fast. It was a terrible thing. It was the worst thing that happened to me."With doors closing rapidly for media deals in general, the question is: will backers keep buying Heckman's vision?<div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-impeachment-process-president-congress-constitution-2017-2">Columbia Law School professor explains exactly how impeachment works, and what it takes for a president to be impeached</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "koo facebook ads" and got 8 results

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A Dutch nightclub is now allowing guests to 'dance' while seated in chairs

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How Jim Heckman - the slick businessman behind the mass layoffs at Sports Illustrated - became the most hated man in sports media

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