How news gatherers can respond to social media challenge

When 29-year-old YouTuber Dhruv Rathee put out a video during the on-going parliamentary elections, exposing how the ruling BJP has “brainwashed” hundreds of thousands of Indians, he took much of the country by storm.

In slightly over a day, his video notched up a staggering 11,836,645 views. It also picked up 200,000 comments and 1.2 million ‘likes’. Rathee, or @dhruvrathee, has 18.3 million followers on YouTube where he loves “breaking down complex issues in simple words”.