What is the story about?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gained around 4 million followers on Instagram in just four days, following a series of selfie videos that quickly spread across the platform and attracted hundreds of millions of views.
The surge began on Friday, early morning, when the Prime Minister uploaded his first selfie video. The clip, which marked a different style of communication from his usual social media posts, rapidly gained traction, crossing hundreds of millions of views and bringing in about 1.4 million new followers within a short span.
After a few hours, Modi shared another selfie video, this time speaking about how well the users responded to his last video. Rather than focusing on a policy announcement, Modi acknowledged the response to his earlier Instagram videos and thanked users for the engagement they had shown within just a few hours of the first upload.
And the latest video continued the trend. Filmed in a different setting, Modi announced the formation of a high-powered task force on examination reforms, an initiative aimed at addressing issues surrounding India's examination system following recent controversies. The announcement became the third selfie video in the series and helped extend the online conversation.
Together, the three videos have pushed Modi's Instagram following up by roughly 4 million in just four days, making it one of the fastest spikes in follower growth on his account in recent months.
The growth also highlights how social media has become an increasingly important channel for political communication. Rather than relying solely on speeches, press conferences or televised addresses, leaders are now using platforms such as Instagram to deliver updates directly to audiences in formats that are familiar to everyday users.
For Modi, selfie videos represent another addition to a digital strategy that already includes regular posts, event highlights and public messages across multiple platforms. The casual recording style stands in contrast to more polished government videos, giving followers a format that feels closer to the way millions of people already use Instagram.
The rapid increase in followers also comes during a period of heightened public discussion around education and examination reforms. By posting multiple updates in quick succession, Modi kept attention on both the announcements and the platform itself, with each video building on the reach of the previous one.
Four days after the first selfie video appeared on Friday, the numbers tell the story: around 4 million new followers, hundreds of millions of views, and a social media experiment that has quickly become one of the Prime Minister's most successful runs on Instagram.
The surge began on Friday, early morning, when the Prime Minister uploaded his first selfie video. The clip, which marked a different style of communication from his usual social media posts, rapidly gained traction, crossing hundreds of millions of views and bringing in about 1.4 million new followers within a short span.
View this post on Instagram
After a few hours, Modi shared another selfie video, this time speaking about how well the users responded to his last video. Rather than focusing on a policy announcement, Modi acknowledged the response to his earlier Instagram videos and thanked users for the engagement they had shown within just a few hours of the first upload.
View this post on Instagram
And the latest video continued the trend. Filmed in a different setting, Modi announced the formation of a high-powered task force on examination reforms, an initiative aimed at addressing issues surrounding India's examination system following recent controversies. The announcement became the third selfie video in the series and helped extend the online conversation.
View this post on Instagram
Together, the three videos have pushed Modi's Instagram following up by roughly 4 million in just four days, making it one of the fastest spikes in follower growth on his account in recent months.
The growth also highlights how social media has become an increasingly important channel for political communication. Rather than relying solely on speeches, press conferences or televised addresses, leaders are now using platforms such as Instagram to deliver updates directly to audiences in formats that are familiar to everyday users.
For Modi, selfie videos represent another addition to a digital strategy that already includes regular posts, event highlights and public messages across multiple platforms. The casual recording style stands in contrast to more polished government videos, giving followers a format that feels closer to the way millions of people already use Instagram.
The rapid increase in followers also comes during a period of heightened public discussion around education and examination reforms. By posting multiple updates in quick succession, Modi kept attention on both the announcements and the platform itself, with each video building on the reach of the previous one.
Four days after the first selfie video appeared on Friday, the numbers tell the story: around 4 million new followers, hundreds of millions of views, and a social media experiment that has quickly become one of the Prime Minister's most successful runs on Instagram.
