Fact-Checking Your Feed: A Look At Indian Political Influencers

If you’re on any social media platform in India, it is easy to notice how every political party has been maximizing on the reach of influencers for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. From Ranveer Alahabadia’s interactions with PM Modi to Kamia Jani’s interview with Rahul Gandhi, campaigning is in full throttle to reach young India through social media. While the internet is the main source of information, the problem is, India faces a significant challenge with misinformation, particularly around political issues. While previous generations relied on mainstream media for authentic news in the past, the government propaganda being served by biased channels in recent years has made it hard to rely on them for facts. This is where Indian political influencers who speak up against the establishment come in.

Many Indian influencers/creators have been using their platforms to fact-check claims, debunk fake news, and provide reliable sources of information. This empowers citizens to make informed decisions based on truth. Blindly following the footsteps of actors or mass media personalities without any real background information is NOT the way the younger generation, especially first-time voters should determine their vote! So, whom can you follow to make an informed vote?

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With 6 million followers on Instagram, Dhruv Rathee is probably one of the most influential when it comes to political content in India. Named amongst the TIME’s Next Generation Leaders in 2023, his narrative on politics in India works to expose the falsehoods spread by mainstream media these days. His video titled “Is India becoming a Dictatorship?” released in February garnered more than 24 million views. While his content has a strong fanbase, it also attracts a lot of hate from supporters of parties he speaks up against. Channels like “An Open Letter” and “Aaj Ki Taza Khabar” consistently put out content to “expose” Rathee.

Akash Banerjee AKA The Deshbhakt, is “Keeping #IndiaFirst with Hard Facts & Blunt Satire” for the 4.07 million YT subscribers & 844K IG follower communities he’s built. His channel is considered one of the first political and social satire platforms in the country, made especially to help the digital generation. Banerjee’s humorous yet serious content constantly emphasizes that all political parties in the country are the same, none above the other, and citizens should question everything in order to help safeguard the interests of democracy in India. In the video attached here, he hosted an interview with fellow creator Dhruv Rathee, discussing the threat of dictatorship in the current political state of the country. With over 9 million views, this interview has sparked many discussions prior to the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections in May 2024.

Also Read: 2024 Elections Focus On Digital India For Votes

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Another account to pay attention to belongs to Sudhanshu Kaushik’s’, an Indian American youth rights activist who founded the Young India Foundation. In his book “The Future Is Ours”, he rouses young Indians to think about whether they are ready to participate actively in politics to determine their future. With 13.4k followers on Instagram, his content isn’t as markedly against a certain party but more focused on making the youth realize how much their vote and participation in politics counts!

While each person has their own views and biases, it is important to take a look at different perspectives to actually build a knowledgeable opinion for yourself. While one creator might be leftist and the other pro-right, citizens can view the content to create their own views. The election commission itself needs to put some rules and guidelines in place to prevent the spread of misinformation through mass or social media. Even if a party employs the aid of a micro-influencer, that’s a few thousand votes in their favor just through influencer marketing!