- Manesar’s YouTube “Silver Creator” award in October 2022 marked a turning point in his online popularity.
- Despite early warnings from activists, Manesar’s social media presence fueled violence against Indian Muslims, revealing the dark underbelly of social media platforms in India.
In October 2022, Monu Manesar was honored with YouTube’s distinguished “Silver Creator” award for surpassing the milestone of 100,000 subscribers. In a symbolic gesture of his commitment, he posed for a photograph alongside a cow. This pivotal achievement marked the inception of an enduring surge in viewership.
However, in spite of the persistent cautions issued by Indian activists, Silicon Valley corporations afforded Manesar a prominent platform for broadcasting violence against Indian Muslims, ultimately propelling his journey to fame.
The exhibited violence was perpetrated under the guise of cow protection.
Since 2020, Manesar, at the helm of his self-styled “cow protection” squad, consistently live-streamed their after-dark missions. These operations involved intercepting drivers suspected of transporting and slaughtering cows, a role predominantly associated with Muslims in India. On these broadcasts, Manesar showcased himself engaging in gunfire exchanges with moving cattle trucks, aggressively ramming them with his SUV, pursuing cow transporters on foot, and subjecting them to on-camera physical confrontations. In response, his followers on YouTube and Facebook inundated the comment sections with effusive praise, replete with heart emojis, lauding his actions as a divine mandate.
During January and February 2023, on formal complaints filed with law enforcement and the judiciary, Manesar and his followers found themselves embroiled in a series of shootings and fatal incidents.
Subsequently, in April, Instagram granted Manesar’s account the prestigious “verified” badge, an honour typically reserved for prominent public figures and celebrities.
The rise of cow vigilante streamers illustrates the manner in which the BJP and affiliated right-wing factions have leveraged prominent U.S. social media platforms, such as YouTube (a subsidiary of Google), Facebook, and Instagram (owned by Meta). Their aim has been to polarize India, mobilize their political supporters, and assert Hindu supremacy, occasionally resorting to forceful means, in a nation known for its extensive digital connectivity. This initiative forms a pivotal component of a larger endeavour by Hindu nationalists aligned with Modi, who seek to employ technology as a means to promote their ideological agenda and strengthen their grip on power.
The Tragic killing of Muslims
One of the most chilling videos produced by Manesar was released on January 28th. Just before 5 a.m., his Facebook page went live, featuring a video that depicted three Muslim men—Nafis, Shokeen, and Waris, being led away from their wrecked Hyundai. Over the course of a 21-minute livestream, Manesar questioned the men, their faces marred by blood, about their identities and hometowns. The Muslims were forcefully held to the ground while Manesar and his associates loomed over them, brandishing rifles and posing for photos like triumphant hunters.
As the sun began to rise, Waris’s elder brother, Imran, received an anonymous phone call demanding a ransom of 100,000 rupees ($1,200) for Waris’s release, as recalled by Imran himself. He refused and promptly ended the call. Unlike the younger Muslims in the region who were aware of Manesar from Social Media. Imran wasn’t. Little did he foresee that, by noon, his brother Waris would meet a tragic end “إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ”
Pictured: the relatives of Waris, one of the three Muslims apprehended by vigilantes on January 28th. From left to right: his mother, Hajra, cradling Waris’s daughter, Ridha; his elder brother Imran, clutching a photograph of Waris; and his father, Fauz. (Photo by Supranav Dash)
YouTube and Meta Respond
A spokesperson for YouTube confirmed that Manesar’s channel was terminated four months ago after a thorough examination of his video content. Meta stated that, as a general practice, the company removes accounts from its platforms when they consistently infringe upon the prohibition of violent content.
The YouTube cache examined by The Post contained 10 violent videos that Manesar posted between 2020 and 2022. His social media reach, however, was much wider because he maintained several accounts on different social media platforms, and his associates also disseminated videos in which he featured.
YouTube spokesman Jack Malon stated, “the company suspended Manesar’s ability to make money off ads on his channel in February after Indian police made serious allegations against him, and that the channel was terminated in late May after repeated violations of the company’s harassment policy. Asked why YouTube did not act sooner, Malon said it uses a combination of software and human review to identify problematic videos, but ‘our systems sometimes don’t detect potential violations.’ If they had, he said, Manesar ‘would have been ineligible to receive a Creator Award.'”
Meta spokeswoman Erin McPike said, “We have established stringent guidelines that prohibit especially violent or graphic content on our platform. We promptly removed content that infringed upon these rules and deactivated accounts for recurring violations.” The company took down various Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to Manesar earlier this year. McPike acknowledged that Manesar’s verified Instagram account had been “restored in error and has since been disabled.” As for X, it declined to comment, citing an overwhelming workload.
Alerts not acted upon
Thenmozhi Soundararajan, the executive director of the civil rights organization Equality Labs, disclosed that she had alerted YouTube and Meta “as early as 2021 and 2022” through their internal reporting channels regarding the hateful nature of Manesar’s accounts and the potential societal risks they posed. According to her, both companies assured her they would investigate the accounts, but no decisive action was taken. Soundararajan further noted that representatives from YouTube and Meta expressed concerns that removing these hateful influencers could place their employees in India at physical risk.
Ritumbra Manuvie, the director of the London Story, a Hague-based organization dedicated to investigating online propaganda fuelling hate crimes, indicated that she had reported hundreds of hateful Indian influencers to Meta using their internal reporting mechanism, often without success.
Manesar’s Increased Popularity Amongst the Hindutva
Manesar used YouTube titles such as, “Clash with Cow Smugglers” and “Watch Live Raid.”
Manesar’s on-camera persona was a juxtaposition of youthful exuberance and unrelenting cruelty. He engaged in both playful antics, such as dancing, and ruthless acts such as coercing his Muslim captives to consume cow dung. His videos frequently depicted him physically assaulting cattle drivers, zooming in on their swollen faces, all the while shamelessly promoting his Instagram handle with a somewhat exaggerated font. At the height of his online presence, Manesar amassed a substantial following, boasting more than 210,000 YouTube subscribers and 83,000 Facebook followers.
Akash Banerjee, a former media executive who presently hosts Deshbakht, one of India’s most prominent YouTube channels, approximated that Manesar could’ve potentially earned several hundred dollars monthly, contingent upon the viewership of his videos. Banerjee said. “He’s actually trying to climb up the political ladder, the influence ladder, and he’s using social media as a tool,” he said.
Sony Bhiwadi, a fellow Cow Vigalante who worked with Manesar said on record how their gang initially lacked cars, guns and recognition. They chased cattle trucks on motorcycles, with barely any money for petrol. During the earlier stages of their crimes, Muslim drivers were often armed and fought back. In a region where hundreds of vigilantes competed for clout, Manesar and Bhiwadi decided to stand out by becoming more extreme.
Haryana Police and Indian Politicians embraced Manesar
Throughout the years, Manesar’s social media profiles frequently featured instances of Haryana police officers requesting him to partake in photo opportunities. In 2021, as Haryana established a civilian cow-protection task force, Manesar shared Instagram images of himself donning the khaki uniform provided by the Haryana police.
Manesar shared a selfie alongside Amit Shah, India’s Home Minister responsible for domestic security and a close associate of Modi, widely recognized as a driving force behind the BJP’s Hindu-centric agenda. Additionally, Manesar posted a YouTube video featuring Anurag Thakur, the BJP Minister of Information, who placed his hand on Manesar’s shoulder while delivering an impassioned speech encouraging right-wing activists to harness the power of social media. (Raj Kumar, a spokesperson for Shah’s Home Ministry, did not provide a comment regarding the Manesar selfie.)
