Many are turning to social media for news with the mainstream media widely being accused of bias. More than 500 million Indians, or 40 percent of the country’s adults, reportedly use YouTube in some form or the other.

Amid the streaming platform’s increasing popularity, it is also witnessing a spike in hate content and scripted videos posted as vox pops and public opinions. Many of the influencers in such videos parrot the rhetorics and narratives of the governing BJP and its leaders.   

Many of these videos, posted on accounts with thousands of subscribers, carry sensational thumbnails and religiously provocative words, and gain millions of views. The trend is popular in many regional languages across the country. A host of these videos are made in busy public places such as Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place, India Gate, and Chandni Chowk in the national capital.

Akhil Ranjan, a fellow of the International Center for Journalists’ Disarming Disinformation programme, investigated the network of influencers indulging in hate mongering and usurping public debates.

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