Indian YouTuber Dhruv Rathee has responded after supporters of the controversial film Dhurandhar targeted his YouTube channel following the release of a video critical of the movie.
According to Rathee, fans of the film launched a coordinated effort to dislike and report the video. Speaking in an Instagram video, he said calls were made on platforms such as Reddit to mass-dislike his content.
Some users claimed they had used multiple accounts to dislike the video, while others encouraged reporting it. Rathee also said several social media accounts linked to India’s ruling BJP opposed the video.
Rathee said that after noticing the organised response, he introduced a new rule on his YouTube channel, requiring users to subscribe before posting comments. He added that this decision angered many of those attempting to troll the video.
He said critics accused him of restricting freedom of expression, to which he responded by calling the requirement a “troll tax”. “Freedom of expression is still there,” he said, adding that those wishing to troll would first need to subscribe to his channel.
According to Rathee, the video received more than 5,000 dislikes, while likes crossed 500,000, which he described as a notable contrast.
The incident has sparked discussion online about organised online campaigns, trolling, and content moderation on social media platforms.
