Mindless megaphones?

You don’t have to go far to bump into a content creator. You might be one yourself! Yet, isn’t it a rather dark world out there? Controversy sells. Lewd and loud content goes viral while meaning and wisdom get lost. What’s the way forward? Is the growing criticism justified? Smitha Murthy looks for answers

If the police were to knock on your door, would you open the door quietly or live-stream the entire event?

If you are a content creator, you may just live-stream it. Just like Mrz Thoppi did. In June 2023, police were breaking open the door of a room in Kochi to arrest Muhammad Nihad, our dreadlocked Mrz Thoppi in the online world. So, he decided to live-stream the break-in to his followers. After all, nothing like a good story. Even if you are the villain in yours.

A YouTuber and gamer with nearly 8,00,000+ followers on YouTube, Mrz Thoppi, incongruous as the name is, has a massive following in Kerala. You may not have heard of him, but children adore him. Children as young as 10. Fans who love his misogynistic, Islamophobic, and homophobic slurs. Who worship his gaming skills. Who watch all his live-streams with fervent passion.

Mrz Thoppi isn’t the ideal engineering or medical grad that Indian parents love — the sort of lad you may want to bring home to Mamma. Mrz Thoppi admits to having been a drug addict once. His videos feature violence and abuse. His Instagram page has just five posts but one million followers. With his dreadlocks, Nihad seems more suited for a rapper-reggae role than a role model for children. Yet, there he is. Another social media content creator who earns millions, closeted in a room out of self-confessed social anxiety, and thriving on portraying the image of the new alpha man who uses abuse as a form of entertainment. Thoppi may seem similar to Toxic Madan, a Chennai-based YouTuber who was arrested in 2021 after nearly 150 complaints over his misogynistic remarks. Who are these extreme content creators? We live in a world where a comedian can face jail over ‘defamation’ and a self-proclaimed motivational hero with the rather weird social media name of Beer Biceps talks up incest, riling an entire nation.

The cost of going viral

India’s creator economy is on a boom like never before. According to Qoruz, an Influencer Marketing Intelligence Platform, India’s creator economy has grown from just 9,62,000 influencers in 2020 to 4.06 million influencers in 2024. That’s a growth rate of 322%. We have gaming influencers. And travel influencers. Parenting influencers have grown from 87,000 to 3,62,000 last year. Health, fitness, fashion, arts, and lifestyle creators. You don’t have to go far to bump into a content creator. Chances are, you might be one yourself. Yet, how much of it is healthy, really?

A study published in the PLOS One journal found ‘millions’ of misogynistic tweets from India daily. From sexist abuse, sexual objectification, to justifying violence against women, it reads more like a horror report than a social media survey. Controversy sells. Lewd and loud content sells, and for someone like Dubai-based Shantesh Row, who has been working with content for more than 25 years, this represents the drowning out of meaningful discourse.

“Controversial or sensationalist content thrives because it exploits the core mechanics of social media — emotion, engagement, and algorithms. Human psychology is wired to pay attention to conflict, outrage, and novelty; these triggers activate our primal fight-or-flight response. When someone posts something provocative, we instinctively react  — whether it’s agreement, anger, or disbelief. Every comment, share, and reaction signals to the algorithm that the content is engaging, which then boosts its visibility,” he explains. What concerns him even more is that he sees the Indian audience becoming increasingly desensitised, needing ever more outrageous content to react. It’s not just gaming content under scrutiny. In the digital freelancing world, too, creators are facing criticism.

Between aspiration and reality

Shantesh has worked extensively with more than 1,500 writers, many of them freelance, over the last three years. They come to him in desperation, fuelled by dreams fed by content influencers who promise them luxurious lifestyles. Recently, YouTube burst into controversy when a channel alleged that certain content creators, including Saheli Chatterjee, were selling inflated income dreams and plagiarised material.

Saheli, a marketer and founder of the Freelance 101 Academy, trains freelance writers and frequently shares success stories on her social media. One video is titled, “I made 1 Lakh at Age 20 from Freelancing.” While the veracity of the claim can be debated, the promise is alluring for early-career freelance writers. One such writer was Shailya Jaggi, who was tempted to take a course with Saheli, but pulled out when she got feedback on the course. The old ‘Get Rich Quick’ schemes have been replaced by ‘Become a Rich Creator.’

“People want to quit their jobs, start freelancing, and earn their own money,” she explains. “So if I am in that phase, or just completed college, and somebody tells me that this is how much you can earn if you take up a course, I’ll buy it. And people do that and come out of it feeling betrayed because they learn nothing.” Shailya’s experience reflects a growing unease among freelance writers, who say the gap between aspiration and reality is widening. “These content creators show you a mirror that is not real, an illusion. A mirror of lack. It makes you feel like you’re not confident enough, not skilled enough, or not doing enough. What we call ‘pain points’ in marketing language. And then, very conveniently, they position themselves as the solution, your mentor, your superior, and they become the person you should listen to,” says writer Mokshika Sharma, who admits that the fame of these content creators bothers her, resulting in intrusive thoughts when she overshoots her social media consumption. (Saheli Chatterjee could not be contacted for comment, and the claims remain unverified at the time of writing.)

Preying on hope

It’s a dark world when it preys on what we prize the most: our dreams and hopes. And that swirl of darkness worries Kochi-based Dr Seema Girija Lal, a trained mental health professional. “Exposure to influencer content that promotes toxic masculinity, misogyny, or regressive humour can significantly impact viewers of all ages. Young viewers, particularly adolescents, may internalise these narratives, leading to anxiety, body image issues, and difficulty forming healthy relationships. For instance, influencers that reinforce skewed gender norms, causing young boys to equate dominance with masculinity. This can lead to problematic thoughts such as, “If I am not dominant, am I weak?” or “Do women deserve respect only if they conform to certain roles?” Similarly, beauty influencers promoting unattainable beauty standards have been associated with increased cases of body dysmorphia among teenagers.” The problem isn’t just restricted to young folks. “For older viewers, exposure to regressive influencer content can reinforce pre-existing biases, making them resistant to progressive societal changes,” she explains.

Doomed to scroll

Influencer Simran Balar Jain is a lifestyle creator and the founder of Unbound, which has one million followers on Instagram. And the algorithm worries her. Honestly, it’s wild how negativity, controversy, and straight-up problematic content often get more traction than content that adds value,” she shares. People eat up misogyny, toxic alpha male content, and borderline creepy humour because it’s “packaged as entertainment,” Simran explains. She agrees with Dr Seema that the content we consume can significantly shape our mindset, which also resonates with 28-year-old creator Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi. For Niharikaa, negativity gets more traction because of our negativity bias. We are doomed to scroll for something that agitates us. But fear-based content comes with repercussions, as Dr Seema shares.

Exaggerated crime reports and extreme political narratives foster hyper-vigilance and withdrawal. Online toxicity can make you believe that the world operates in extremes, either as absolute victims or oppressors. Reddit’s search algorithm surfaces toxic communities even for innocuous terms, while Instagram’s AI relentlessly promotes ‘six-pack influencers’. Who hasn’t tried to follow a 7-day to six-pack challenge? Mental health impacts of toxic content can range from body image issues to bullying to stress, withdrawal, and social anxiety. And there’s a reason why the Netflix series, ‘Adolescence,’ struck a chord. Parents are grappling with the realisation that their children are part of a world they increasingly know nothing about. It’s dystopian, creepy, and deeply troubling. Dr Seema suggests that you may have to promote ‘digital mindfulness’ to cope.

l→Reflect on the kind of content you consume. Examine and explore your preferences.

l→Notice how your body reacts to certain types of content.

l→Use grounding techniques when overwhelming information floods you.

l→Accept that online content can often be a lot to process.

l→Gain perspective before rushing to troll or blame someone online.

l→Express with curiosity instead of conflict.

Integrity over fake posturing

But is everything dark? Not if you stumble upon Instagrammer Mylaporeiyeraathuponnu or Krithika Ramesh. With 92,000 followers and over 7,000 posts, Krithika stands out in a world that thrives on clickbait engagement. Her posts show a more endearing side to social media. The one that says, “We connect with you out of joy, not pain.” Krithika has no patience for social media algorithms. “I have chosen content related to spirituality and tradition. My Instagram profile is a reflection of my daily life; it’s like a journal. I don’t dress specifically for Instagram, nor do I create special content for Instagram,” she explains. She frequently offers promotions, but points out that her brand partnerships always align with her values of spirituality, culture, and tradition. Her profile has been curated entirely organically, and that authenticity is what she believes helps her connect with her followers. Not that Krithika is unaware of the impact that shady content creators can have. With a 19-year-old son, she knows he is growing up in a world far from hers. “We don’t encroach on his privacy. I don’t put too many photos of him,” she says. “But my husband and I do show him our traditions, customs, way of life, etc., and we stand as examples.”

Then there are influencers like Tanya Mehra, a nutritionist and a ‘mom influencer’ who also shies away from algorithm pressure like Krithika. “As the creator behind @tannzymommy, my content has always been rooted in real motherhood; single parenting, early learning, toddler nutrition, and the small joys and struggles we face daily. I definitely feel the pressure to adapt to trends or ride the algorithm wave, but I constantly remind myself why I started: to share information and build a supportive community for moms.”

So, while toxic creators do hog headlines, ethical influencers like Tanya and Krithika are driving change. For every ‘scam’ out there, genuine content creators are exploring the democratisation of content. It takes clarity and courage, admits Tanya, to not fall prey to the algorithm, but she believes that despite the noise, the audience will ultimately value integrity and authenticity over fake posturing. The creators who share raw, unfiltered moments and who show vulnerability as strength may not win algorithms, but they will eventually win people’s hearts.