The Crisis of Rational Thinking
The Article
Currently, everything we see on the internet has become a cog in the machine of narrative building.
Everywhere I look, I see people consuming a one-minute video on a complex geopolitical or social issue and immediately acting like a world-class expert. They walk away with total confidence, fueled by the belief that their favorite influencer did them justice and didn’t leave out a single detail. They feel equipped to debate, to judge, and to shout—all based on 60 seconds of curated footage.
But we have to ask: Are these influencers really talking facts?
The short answer is: Not exactly. We used to accuse mainstream media channels of being biased, of chasing "TRP" (Television Rating Points) at the cost of the truth. Today, the influencer market has become the new mainstream media, and it’s plagued by the exact same disease.
Most influencers are running their own private TRP campaigns. Their goal isn't to educate you; it's to increase their market share and potential earnings. They entered this business for money—let's be honest about that—and for money, they will happily mold the truth until it fits the narrative they want to propagate. They hide inconvenient facts and highlight emotional triggers, all to ensure you stay "hooked" to their brand of truth.
The Business of Lies
Why do they do it? Because it pays.
If someone offers you a massive paycheck to sell a specific perspective to the public, would you take it? For many, the answer is a resounding "Yes." With that money, they buy the lifestyle you admire, which in turn makes you trust them more. It’s a perfect, vicious cycle.
You might argue: "So what? Everyone lies, right?" When you bargain with a shopkeeper, he might claim he bought the item for ₹2000 and can’t sell it for less than ₹2200, even if he’s making a 50% profit. We accept these small lies as part of daily life. But there is a massive difference between a shopkeeper’s margin and an influencer shaping the collective consciousness of a generation. "But won’t people notice the lies and unfollow them?"
That is the tricky part. Very few people actually notice the bias. Even fewer take the time to fact-check. Most people don't want the truth; they want an opinion that makes them feel smart.
The Hypocrisy of "Social Service"
Let me give you an example of how this narrative-shifting works.
An influencer might release a video today saying that begging is a national nuisance, a hindrance to our growth story, and that the practice should be banned immediately. He’ll be praised for being "bold" and "brave" for saying what others are afraid to say.
Then, next week, that same influencer will post a video of himself distributing food to the homeless, talking about “Samaj Seva” (social service) and how peaceful his soul feels. And the audience? They will flood the comments with praise, calling him a "wonderful human being" doing "God’s work."
Still, only 1 out of 1,000 viewers will catch the hypocrisy. Why? Because we are suffering from digital brain rot. We consume so much content without context that our minds are no longer trained to remember details. We don't remember what an influencer said three videos ago. We just remember that we "liked" them.
Influencers bet on your ability to forget and your refusal to verify.
The Illusion of "Following Both Sides"
If I were to ask you right now: "What does your favorite influencer actually stand for, and what are the hard facts they use to back their stance?" Most likely, you’ll remember their "vibe" or whether they are "for" or "against" a topic, but you won't remember the why.
Think back to the Farm Laws or any major national policy. How many of you actually read the documents? Most people simply chose a side based on which influencer they trusted. You believed they would do justice to the information. But you didn't follow them because they were objective; you followed them because they aligned with your pre-existing ideology.
Your brain is trying to protect itself. It thinks: "I chose this person, I decided they are truthful, so I must advocate for them." To admit they are lying is to admit you were fooled. So, you keep believing.
Even those who say, "I’m smart, I follow people from both sides," are often still caught in the trap. Following two different brands of propaganda doesn't make you informed—it just makes you a participant in a discussion that might not even matter.
The "Boldness" Trap
So, what should we do? Should we unfollow everyone because no one is perfect?
Not necessarily. No one can be right 100% of the time. But we must become aware of the professional hypocrites. * Does your influencer only focus on the negative to generate rage?
Do they use "Nationalism" or "Progress" simply as keywords to get views?
Are they a declared propagandist?
I often hear people say: “Bhai is bnde me dam hai, dekh kese swal puch ra ye ni drta kisi se” (This guy has guts, look how he asks questions, he isn’t afraid of anyone).
As lame as it sounds, that’s all it takes to win people over. "Guts" have become a substitute for "Truth."
Conclusion: Who is Controlling You?
The reason these influencers keep gaining followers despite spreading lies is simple: People refuse to think for themselves. It is "cool" to repeat an influencer's talking points, but it's "hard" to do original research.
Most of what people say in conversations today isn't their own researched information; it is just second-hand propaganda shoved down their throats by a screen. You probably have friends who follow these "degenerates"—influencers who spit poison and push false narratives. When you confront them, they say, "Oh, everyone does that now." They’ve been conditioned to accept dishonesty as the industry standard.
This is exactly what the digital puppet masters want. They want you to stop bothering with the truth. They want you to dance to whatever tune they play. They want to tell you which issue to lose sleep over and which issue to ignore.
The result? You lose your thoughts, your imagination, and eventually, your roots. We’ve become a "woke" society that is quick to question our own customs and rituals in the name of being "intellectual," yet we are the same people who blindly follow a stranger on the internet without a single question.
In a world full of selective criticism and manufactured narratives, stand up and ask yourself: Am I being manipulated?
You keep worrying about the government taking control of your life. You haven't realised that someone in your pocket already has.