6 Times Indian Media Used Online Sensations For TRPs And Went Too Low

As social media has become an indispensable part of our everyday lives, many regular people have earned unexpected celebrity as a result of it. The internet and what attracts one’s attention on social media define the twenty-first century.

So, while there are millions of films and photographs uploaded to the internet every day, it takes something truly remarkable to go viral.

Every day, there is a new thing that goes trending on social media for various reasons. Some of them attain the status of a celebrity overnight. That’s why Indian media attempts to make a viral phenomenon out of underprivileged people every year or every few months. There is a lot of buzzes, interviews, tweets, and whatever else you can think of to boost the TRPs.

But in the race of TRPs, the media frequently treats them like an animal in the circus acts in the process. Here are a few instances:

1. Baba Ka Dhaba

After a blogger detailed his sufferings during the pandemic, the 80-year-old operator of a tiny eatery in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar became an internet star. This sparked a viral campaign involving ordinary people and celebrities alike, urging people to visit his food booth, which was a huge success.

The media, on the other hand, also did not abandon him. Kanta Prasad became a target of memes, trolls, and other nonsense as a result of his continuous video bytes and interviews with everyone and their mothers.

Even if you can separate all of the drama surrounding the individual from the alleged theft of funds, the reality remains that Indian media utilised him as cannon fodder and then hanged him out to dry when people lost interest.

2. Ranu Mondal

After her version of a Lata Mangeshkar song at the Ranaghat station in West Bengal appeared online, Ranu Mondal became an instant celebrity. Viral marketing and a slew of interviews, both on TV and on social media, followed, as did invites to gatherings held by celebrities like Barkha Dutt.

However, the pandemic struck shortly after, and she faded from our collective consciousness. According to accounts, she was in a bad financial condition and had to return to her former address. After all that circus, you’d think we’d have someone cover the gruesome portion of the tale.

3. Budhia Singh

Remember this four-year-old talent who covered the 65-kilometre trip between Puri and Bhubaneswar in just seven hours in 2006. Surely, this young fellow was an athletic wonder, poised for greater heights. He must have at least been a member of the Indian Olympic squad by now.

But things went different.  After a flurry of media attention and a million and one interviews and stories on the boy’s life, his coach was assassinated, thereby ending his aim at sprinting. Singh was almost forgotten in Indian media until Manoj Vajpayee produced a biography on him.

Nobody mentioned Singh’s mother’s complaint that the state government was hanging them out to dry, or Budhia’s admission that he was not getting appropriate nourishment in the sports dormitory where he was sent.

4. Sahdev Dirdo

You’re probably familiar with him as the Bachpan Ka Pyaar boy. He’s also wondered at what he does, and everyone adores him. The Indian media and the manner they reported this child’s tale is the only evil characters here.

He was singing the song every time someone interviewed him, and while he didn’t seem disturbed by it, it was clear that he was being treated like a circus attraction to those of a certain age.

5. Bhuban Badyakar

You’re familiar with him as the Kacha Badam dude. Except you can’t remember his face and are now scrolling down to check if I’ve included a photo.

While it wasn’t the Indian press that treated him unfairly, it was social media and Instagram influencers who continued to dance to an autotuned version of the song without giving him any credit. I know the headline says information, but let’s be honest that in this nation, there’s not much of a distinction between the two.

Pradeep Mehra, who was recently seen jogging at night after ending his shift at a restaurant where he works, is the newest addition to the list of those who didn’t ask for social media fame but got it regardless.

Mehra stated that he was training for the army when questioned why he was jogging by famous filmmaker Vinod Kapri. I’m happy for him, but if this isn’t a damning indictment of our society, I’m not sure what is. Needless to say, it was transformed into something encouraging by people from all walks of life, when all it is just Poverty Porn.

Then he was summoned to a studio and asked to run there by some sleazy media outlets. This is just utter nonsense. I mean runs inside the studio.