Corona communication: What can India do better?

How is India communicating to its citizens about the Corona pandemic? In this post, I talk mainly about how the government, a chief player in crisis communication, can improve its messaging. I have only briefly touched upon how the media is faring, as that merits a separate conversation altogether.

Leaders must not preface. Get to the point quickly. This is the first rule of plain language. In general, governments find it hard to comply with plain language, but if there was ever a time to start doing so, it's now. In prime minister Narendra Modi's first speech on corona, he took a full minute to even mention the name of the virus. Contrast that with German chanceller Angela Merkel's speech where she begins right away with Corona. Her speech is also less than half the length of Modi's – keep it short, stupid?

What is plain language? To put it briefly, speaking in plain language means the target audience of the message should be able to understand the message at the first attempt. Using familiar words words, avoiding jargon are important principles of plain language. If you must use a new term or jargon, explain it. Crises are not a time when anyone would want to or can look up the meaning of rarely-used words and phrases.

Responding to Corona has resulted in a barrage of new words and phrases being coined. Some cultures may find it particularly hard to understand concepts such as "social distancing". In India, where a typical queue more often looks like what you see below, clear, detailed instructions are necessary on how one goes about distancing oneself in various public situations. "Physical distancing" may have made it clearer.

"Physical distancing" and not "social distancing" may
have been a clearer term to use in India.
Image source: Medium 

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee provided a demo on buying vegetables while maintaining distance between each other.

Provide speedy, easy access to information. In times of crisis, people are hungry for information on how to take care of themselves and their families, where and how to get food and medicine, and so on. The health and family welfare ministry's website has been turned into a Corona portal. Yet, it still does not serve as the repository of all Corona-related information in India. For instance, how and where one can one find essential goods and services during a lockdown? Remember, this is an unprecedented event. There's no such thing as too much information in such times. The government must also consider setting up a disaster/crisis communications center, perhaps as part of the National Disaster Management Authority which can evolve standards and best practices for government agencies, healthcare personnel, media, etc. to use.

State governments should provide more granular information, such as district-wise data on where to get food, medicines, local numbers to contact the police, the district health authorities, and any other state-specific information.

Translate and localize. The central government's Corona portal or app as well as the helpline should be available in all the 22 official languages of India. So should the NDMA's. There can't be any excuses for not communicating in any major language of India at such a time. It's not hard to put together this multilingual information: the states will anyway be producing content in their own languages. The centre just has to collate this.

Another critical takeaway for the government from Corona: recognise the linguistic rights of Indian citizens and invest in translation. India has a thriving ecosystem of language service providers (LSPs) who provide a range of language services. Rope them in to create a nation-wide panel of translators and interpreters which any government agency can hire at a moment's notice. Other multilingual societies such as the European Union have done so and even gone on to prepare themselves for crisis translation. Learn from them.

It's not enough to merely translate. One of the government's frequently broadcast messages on the do's and don'ts to prevent the spread of the disease has the actor Amitabh Bachchan talking about using tissues when one sneezes or coughs. Apparently, this has been adapted from international advisories. But how many people in India use a tissue or have access to it? The video skips mentioning the alternative to tissues, which is sneezing into your elbow. This advice needed to be localized to India's reality where most people use a cloth napkin or handkerchief when they have a cold or a cough. Of course, it would have to be followed up with advice on carefully handling and washing the used napkin. Let's also remember that our waste management workers often work with no protective gear. So, if the urban masses used and disposed tissues by the kilograms, think about the potential risks to these workers and the probability of mass infections.

Also, provide information in different formats to cater to people of varying literacy levels as well as people with no or little internet access. Use simple infographics to explain how the disease spreads and what one can do to stay safe.

Fight misinformation. While accurate information may be hard to come by, there is no dearth of fake news, ranging from propagating superstitions, to scaremongering, to furthering political agendas. When Modi asked people to show appreciation to essential services providers by clapping at 5 pm on janata curfew day, WhatsApp forwards went crazy claiming the government would spray some medicine to kill the virus and that's why people were being asked to stay home. The message also said that once the medicine was sprayed, life would return to normal the next day. It can't get more dangerous than this. Social network and chat app providers should work extra hard to quickly catch and filter out fake news forwards and regularly alert people on how they can recognise fake news. Of course, the prime minister could himself have merely thanked the essential services providers and not asked for that specific step. Stick to relevant stuff – another mantra for disaster messaging.

Media, please rein in yourself. On the eve of India's lockdown, I watched in silent horror as the editor of a top Kannada news channel encouraged police personnel to do whatever it takes, even beat up people, to make sure they didn't venture out. We've seen where that has led us. So, please do not play the vigilante. If possible, please work to remind the state that it's still a democracy.

And, enough with the horror-movie style background music and intimidating styles of delivering the news: there's enough horror unfolding as it is, spare us the add-ons.

Ultimately, communication in times of Corona or any other disaster is as much a governance issue as it is a health one. Not being able to communicate clearly and effectively simply means that the government has failed. Let's communicate in plain language and in all the languages of India to win against Corona. It can provide critical lessons in upholding democracy. After all, information is our right.