Ritam: A news app that aggregates ‘truth’ as right wing sees it

NEW DELHI | BENGALURU: A news aggregator app intended to be the voice of what’s roughly the right wing in India, correct mainstream media’s “lack of objectivity” and fight “hidden and direct bias” on Twitter and Facebook does not seem to have found many takers.

The app — Ritam, an acronym for ‘reliable, informative, trusted, authentic and motivating’ — was launched in early February by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat in Android. Its iOS version was launched later by union minister Smriti Irani.

People behind the app say it seeks to bring news, views and thoughts from people “who believe in the eternal nature of this land called Bharat”. But so far, reception has been less than overwhelming. The target at launch was 5 million downloads in three months. By the end of March first week, downloads had crossed just 50,000.