YouTuber Dhruv Rathee Slams UP Govt’s New Social Media Policy, Calls Payment To Influencers 'Legalised Bribery'

Mumbai: YouTuber Dhruv Rathee on Wednesday slammed the new social media policy introduced by the Uttar Pradesh government, the policy which aims to encourage influencers to promote the policies and schemes of the state government on their social media channels. It stated that the influencers could now earn up to Rs 8 lakh under the new social media policy.

"Influencers who promote the government for money should be shamed publicly"

Dhruv Rathee criticised the Uttar Pradesh government's new social media policy and said that Yogi Adityanath is using the tax payer's money to bribe the influencers for the promotion of their schemes and initiatives. He said that influencers should refrain themselves from taking the money which is being offered by the government. Dhruv Rathee was with an opinion that the influencers who promote the government for money should be shamed publicly.

Dhruv Rathee took to his official media account and said, "Uttar Pradesh Govt is saying it will pay up to ₹8 Lakh to Influencers to promote the govt. This is Legalized Bribery. From Tax Payer's Money. Any influencer who does this should be publicly shamed."

What's the new social media policy of UP govt?

Uttar Pradesh government has categorised influencers into four categories as per the number of their subscribers and followers on their social media accounts. They will get the payment for their promotions as per the number of their subscribers on different social media platforms. The government has set the monthly payment limit on X, Facebook and Instagram: Rs 5 lakh, Rs 4 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively. However, the payment limit set for YouTube is the highest, starting from Rs 4 lakh, Rs 6 lakh, Rs 7 lakh and goes upto Rs 8 lakh per month.

However, the social media policy empowers the government to take legal action against these influencers if they show anti-social, anti-national and derogatory contents on their social media platforms.

Dhruv Rathee is strongly criticising Uttar Pradesh government's social media policy even after he may be eligible to fall under the category of influencers who can earn the highest amount of Rs 8 lakh per month set by the state government.

Dhruv Rathee currently has over 24 million followers on YouTube. He also has over 2.8 million followers on X and over 12 million followers on Instagram. His YouTube videos often record millions of views within a short span of time and his followers eagerly await for to watch and respond to his new videos.

The social media policy introduced by the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh is facing sharp criticism from the internet users and even the opposition parties.