The dark side of influence

Allahbadia, who primarily does podcasts, did not respond to Forbes India’s message to participate in the story.

Influencer Apoorva Mukhija, also known as the ‘Rebel Kid’, who was on the same show with Allahbadia, too had a harrowing time with the hate she received after portions of the show went viral. While she was no stranger to online bullying, this time it cost her brand deals and even had to move houses.

“For years, online bullying completely shattered my sense of self. It led to sleepless nights, anxiety attacks and moments where I questioned everything about who I was. It took me a long time to understand that I’m not the comments people leave on my Instagram,” says Mukhija, who started creating content at the age of 17 and has 4.4 million followers on Instagram.  

The Pressure Behind the Fame

A recent report published by Qoruz reveals that India’s influencer count has grown from 9.6 lakh in 2020 to 40.6 lakh in 2024, a staggering 322 percent growth.

The perks are obvious, but they sometimes come with trolling, legal notices and death threats. “We may share smiles online, but there’s a lot that creators carry behind the scenes—mentally, emotionally and physically,” says Bhomrah, who was subjected to several harsh comments for being a plus-size, acne-prone brown girl.

Creators know that one incorrect statement, one controversy, one wrong collaboration can put an abrupt end to their career. That is why many prefer to tread with caution.

“Kumari’s murder has shaken all of us in the creator community,” says Masoom Minawala, who makes content around lifestyle, beauty and fashion, and has 1.3 million followers on Instagram. “I am definitely more vigilant now, especially after becoming a mother. I avoid sharing real-time locations, I’m careful about what I post, and I have boundaries in place for both online and offline,” she says.  

Revant Himatsingka does not identify himself as an influencer, but with over 3 million followers on Instagram, the ‘Food Pharmer’ who highlights the perils of junk food is aware that people latch on to every word of his. He points out that his X account was hacked and deleted recently. And says the palm oil board, against which he speaks on social media, is running ads against him. “I have received eight legal notices, a Rs2 crore defamation lawsuit and even imprisonment charges,” he tells Forbes India. “No one likes to talk about all these things [that an influencer goes through].” 

Himatsingka, who came into the limelight for highlighting the sugar content in Bournvita, says initially he couldn’t sleep and felt anxious after getting into legal tangles. “These aren’t small threats, they come from companies with endless money and legal power,” he says. “But over time, I realised that fear is the tool they use to control people. Once you recognise that, you stop giving it power.” 

It is easier said than done though. After Kumari’s murder, influencer Simarpreet Kaur aka Preet Jatti said she got death threats for promoting astrology. Another creator from Punjab, Deepika Luthra, was targeted by the same radical group that is accused of killing Kumari. Luthra was forced to apologise to the group and delete all the ‘offensive’ posts from her social media account.

The pressure can also get difficult to handle beyond a point. In November 2023, Pranshu, 16, a class 10 student of a public school in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, who was a self-taught make-up artist with nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram, died by suicide following hate comments on a reel he had posted in a saree. He had received almost 50,000 comments filled with bile and homophobic threats.  

Also read: Influencers are setting a new agenda beyond communication and making money

Brands, Perks & Monetisation

Given the massive following and reach of influencers, brands across categories are tapping into the influencer culture to be seen and heard by the masses.

According to Saket Jha Saurabh, director, head–content and AR partnerships at Snap Inc, India Inc has come a long way from the time when brands didn’t know who creators were and what they could bring to the table. “The ecosystem has matured. There is an influx of creators. Being a creator today is a valid profession,” he says.

Mukhija says she began doing brand deals for ₹2,000 even when her posts got 500,000 views on average. “I didn’t know how to structure this as a business,” she says. Eventually, she started understanding the ecosystem and treating content creation like the business it is today. “Now I have multiple revenue streams—brand sponsorships on Instagram, YouTube ad revenue, Snapchat monetisation, on-ground events, and paid appearances,” she adds. 

Snap, a platform that caters to the Gen-Z audience, is seeing brand collaborations with companies such as Bumble, L’Oreal, Maybelline and Flipkart, and witnessing many young creators monetising their content. “Snap’s young, vibrant audience makes it easier for creators like me to work with brands that genuinely resonate with our communities. I’m also part of Snapchat’s Unified Monetisation Programme which allows me to monetise content across stories and spotlight (short-form video content on Snap),” says Snap star Amulya Ratna.

Another Snap creator, Vriddhi Patwa, who posts about fashion and beauty among other things, adds: “Snapchat is the platform I’ve earned the most from, which has allowed me to take international trips to Europe, Australia and other countries. I genuinely believe Snapchat is not just a fun app anymore, it’s a livelihood.”

Beauty platform Tira is one of the many brands that extensively partner with influencers for promotions. “Influencer marketing is one of the key marketing levers for brands to connect with consumers—driving discovery, education and purchase,” says a Tira spokesperson.

The income avenues also go beyond simple brand deals and include not just affiliate marketing via platforms like YouTube and Instagram but also other opportunities for creators and artistes.

OML, an independent business network with an artist management and branded content offerings, has seen its artiste management business revenue double from 2023 to 2024. This is fuelled by brands engaging more frequently with creators, fans paying higher ticket prices to attend shows of their favourite standup artistes, and multiple opportunities opening up for artistes in films, OTT shows, etc as well as OML’s growing editorial content ad revenues.

According to Kobita Banerjee, creative director at Only Much Louder (OML),  the link between brands and creators in terms of brand promotions is “here to evolve”. “Brands will have to start thinking more like creators… and while advertising in tandem with creators, they will have to find new ways to engage and activate their fandoms. As advertisers, it’s going to be a massive challenge and opportunity,” she adds. 

It’s not just big content creators that are benefitting. “In fact, the tide is turning in such a way that nano and micro creators are getting far more business now than they were earlier… and brands are choosing to work with them instead of mega or big creators,” says Viraj Sheth, CEO of Monk Entertainment, a talent management, influencer marketing and video production company that he co-founded with Allahbadia.

But small or big, fame is a double-edged sword for people in the public eye. Most creators like to avoid controversy because the repercussions are obvious, but for others, perhaps those who don’t have much to lose, it is also a way to grab the limelight. “Creators do know that any kind of controversy they invite can either directly destroy their careers or in some cases also be good for them because it will keep them in the news,” says Sheth of Monk Entertainment.

He adds that the magnitude of the controversy and whose sentiments are hurt define whether it will harm the creator or get them more fame. “If someone makes a political comment or hurts religious sentiments, brands may want to stay away from them considering they are volatile individuals. That would result in loss of business.” 

According to Vinay Pillai, chief business officer, Pocket Aces, a media company whose talent management wing, Clout, manages 250 influencers, there’s no substitute for a good reputation. “Brands are wary of partnering with you once there is a negative connotation just as they are excited to partner when there are positive connotations. It’s part of the volatility of the profession,” he says. 

Hate Versus Help

The volatility of the profession is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some creators are moving back to stable corporate jobs given that being an influencer does not guarantee a consistent income owing to shrinking ad revenue and inconsistent brand deals. Aashish Gupta, for example, who began as a content creator in 2018, recently gave it up to become manager of another popular creator, Elvish Yadav.

There’s also uncertainty because of the possibility of losing relevance among a constantly ballooning pool of creators. The way forward, then, is to build something beyond social media.

Tusharr Kumar, CEO at OML, says they have always believed in building a sustainable ecosystem where creators can thrive and fans get an authentic experience. The agency helps artistes drive revenues from multiple channels—brands and agencies who want to partner with them, casting opportunities from film and television, writing and direction gigs as well as live touring in India and internationally, among other things.

Influencers too believe it is important to build something beyond content creation and create a distinct identity for oneself. For instance, the likes of Prajakta Koli and Bhuvan Bam have taken to acting. Minawala, on the other hand, is also an investor and entrepreneur, and has a show called The Masoom Minawala Show. “I think the key to surviving ‘cancel culture’—or any kind of backlash—is being real. If your audience trusts you, if you’ve built a relationship that’s based on authenticity and accountability, they’ll stand by you,” she says, adding that it is imperative that creators think long term.`

But on social media, Bhomrah says though platforms talk about community guidelines, the reality is that hate spreads faster than help. She believes there should be stronger content moderation, easier reporting systems and real consequences for online abuse.

“Agencies also need to do more than just focus on brand deals. They need to care about creators’ well-being, mental health access and safety training,” she says. “Influencers are often treated as marketing machines, rather than individuals. We need a shift where mental health support, digital security and community management are built into contracts and campaigns.”