Anupam Mittal calls out YouTube for India’s Got Latent fiasco

Shaadi.com CEO Anupam Mittal has called for YouTube to be held accountable in the ongoing controversy surrounding influencer Samay Raina-led reality show India’s Got Latent. Mittal took to LinkedIn to share his opinion on India’s Got Latent’s recent controversy, and how people are missing the bigger picture of “‘Big-tech’ who take cover under digital intermediary laws that allow them to flout all responsibility & accountability.”

For the unacquainted, earlier this month, India’s Got Latent–a show that was built on the premise of uncensored, unapologetic, and often derogatory humour–garnered significant controversy due to an obscene joke made by the show’s latest guest Ranveer Allahbadia, the founder of BeerBiceps Media World and the host of the popular podcast, "The Ranveer Show" (TRS).

Allahbadia posed a hypothetical question to one of the contestants of the show that involved a sensual encounter with the contestant’s parents, which audiences across the internet found repulsive and outrageous. 

Since the initial backlash, many things have transpired within the context of India’s Got Latent. Allahbadia has since apologised for his words, Samay Raina has deleted all episodes of India’s Got Latent, the police have gotten involved, and the judiciary has issued summons and notices to all parties involved. 

Additionally, many influencers and opinion leaders have come out to condemn the magnitude of scrutiny and judicial intervention in the matter, citing free speech and freedom of expression. These include Vivek Agnihotri, Vir Das, Gaurav Taneja, among others.

Anupam Mittal has joined in on the conversation, putting emphasis on how digital platforms need to be held accountable for the kind of content they incentivise and favour. In a LinkedIn post, Mittal said, “I personally think Ranveer, Apoorva, Samay & others like them are actually the victims who are caught in an endless cycle of provocation for their relevance & survival. The real culprits are ‘Big-tech’ who take cover under digital intermediary laws that allow them to flout all responsibility & accountability.  Imagine a newspaper or a tv channel publishing the type of content that these platforms carry with total impunity.”

Read the full post below: