The BJP’s latest election campaign against the DMK-Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu is the decades-old Katchatheevu issue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has targeted the Congress for “callously” giving away the tiny 285-acre uninhabited island in the Palk Strait to Sri Lanka. The geopolitical issue is making headlines with experts weighing in on whether the BJP’s strategy to corner both the Congress and DMK would work out for them in the Lok Sabha elections.
Interestingly, just four days before the BJP picked up this dormant issue, YouTuber Keerthika Govindaraj, raked up the same issue on her channel Keerthi History in the episode ‘Why BJP Couldn't Make A Mark In Tamilnadu?’.
Keerthi’s channel, which boasts of 2.07 million subscribers as of March 2024, grew exponentially in a span of two years. In her videos, the 26-year-old History graduate claims to educate people about “real history that the education system has forgotten”. In the first edition of the National Creators Award, where social media influencers were presented with awards for their work by the Union government — Keerthi was awarded ‘Best Storyteller’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for educating people on “real history with unique perspectives.” This was 18 days before the BJP picked up Katchatheevu as a poll platform.
One of the many reasons behind the success of Keerthi History is the overt right-wing slant mixed with rhetoric in her videos, whether it is ‘exposing’ the ‘bloody tale’ behind the newly built Ram temple in Ayodhya or justifying the bursting of crackers during Diwali. Like Keerthi History, several YouTube channels with a subtle or explicit right-wing slant have cropped up in Tamil Nadu, and are platforming BJP’s talking points in the state.
Several right wing YouTube channels in the state have mushroomed after 2016 and began posting videos more consistently during the pandemic. TNM analysed the content of 26 of these channels including bigger ones like Keerthi History and Pesu Tamizha Pesu and smaller, more obscure ones. Despite minimal engagement and low subscribers, the smaller channels have been consistent with their videos, with some of them posting at least three videos per day.
The BJP has also been promoting these channels on WhatsApp groups, encouraging people to subscribe to their content for a better grasp on politics. A list sent on one of these groups named 43 YouTube channels of which five were official channels of the BJP, the Hindu Munnani Katchi, and the TN BJP chief Annamalai. Another five were solely dedicated to promoting Annamalai and his speeches, especially targeting the DMK.
TNM also reached out to a smaller right-wing YouTube channel to learn more about its funding, target audience, and whether it received any type of political support.