A special investigation led by the BBC World Service’s new Disinformation Unit in India has uncovered a coordinated network of politically-linked social media influencers spreading abuse, lies, and baseless theories about Bollywood.
Industry insiders have told the BBC how the spread of disinformation has had a devastating impact on them and the industry.
Swara Bhasker, well-known Bollywood actor said, “There is an impression in people’s minds about me now and this impression has been formed more by the noise that is created around me than by my own actions. I don’t get work as much. People in the film industry get worried that if Swara comes, there might be a controversy. Brands are very afraid of me.”
“Bollywood is under attack and there is an agenda behind it which is planned and sponsored. The idea is to make Bollywood dance to their tunes,” Bhaskar further explains.
The BBC found multiple, YouTube influencers creating content that included false information about a public hospital being involved in the cover-up of an actor’s death, and unevidenced claims that casting decisions for movies are being made by Pakistan intelligence agencies.
Anil Nagrath, Secretary, Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association said, “The way in which some people have defamed this industry, it has made it tougher for producers to secure finance for their projects. Workers also suffer because their payments get delayed. How will we survive?”
For the investigation, the influencers who benefit financially from their unsubstantiated claims, were tracked down and confronted by the BBC.
Sandeep Phogat, one of the influencers said, “When you do two-hour-long videos may be there are some things that you miss. If this channel shuts I can open ten more channels and talk about these things again and again.”
Another influencer, Sandeep Verma said, “I don’t hate Bollywood but I want cleansing.”
When BBC asked the YouTube why such content has been allowed on their website, YouTube spokesperson said, “We’ve invested heavily in the policies, resources and products needed to protect the YouTube community. We changed our search and discovery algorithms to ensure more authoritative content is surfaced and labelled prominently. Our teams are vigilant about any misinformation being spread on the platform.”
