‘Bribe of Rs 8 lakh monthly if praised BJP Govt,’ noted YouTuber against new policy

MUMBAI: YouTuber Dhruv Rathee criticized the new social media policy brought by the Uttar Pradesh government. The new policy is to pay influencers who promote state government policies and schemes through social media accounts. Influencers who praise the government in this way can earn up to Rs 8 lakh.

‘Yogi Adityanath is using our tax money to pay bribes to influencers. You should not accept the money given by the government. We should publicly shame those promoting Yogi Government just for money. The UP government said it will pay those promoting the government. This is a legitimate bribe', said Dhruv Rathee in his X account.

Uttar Pradesh Govt promoters are paid according to their number of subscribers. Those who promote through X, Facebook and Instagram will be paid Rs 2 lakh to 5 lakh per month. YouTubers are paid Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8 Lakh. The new policy also empowers the government to take legal action against paid influencers who publish anti-social, anti-national and defamatory content through their accounts. Those with the highest number of subscribers will get the highest amount of Rs 8 lakhs.

Dhruv Rathee has presently more than 24 million followers on YouTube. He also has 2.8 million followers on X and 12 million followers on Instagram. Dhruv Rathee’s videos are watched by millions with a short span of time. Many videos are trending on YouTube.

Many internet users and opposition parties have come forward to criticize the new social media policy brought by the UP government.