In an internet economy driven by virality, outrage, and shortcuts, a new kind of influence is quietly earning trust, by slowing down, checking facts, and choosing public interest over popularity.
India’s digital future may depend less on who shouts the loudest, and more on who takes responsibility.
When Influence Became a Public Force
India’s creator economy has grown faster than regulation, ethics, or public understanding could keep up with. According to a 2023 report by KPMG, India has over 80 million content creators, with influencer marketing projected to cross ₹3,000 crore in value. Platforms have democratised voice at an unprecedented scale — anyone with a phone can now shape opinion, behaviour, and belief.
This shift has brought undeniable positives. Marginalised voices have found platforms. Niche knowledge has found audiences. Traditional gatekeeping has weakened. But the same ecosystem has also enabled misinformation, pseudoscience, and commercial manipulation to spread with alarming ease — particularly in areas that directly affect public health, finance, and social trust.
In this crowded, attention-driven landscape, the rise of responsible influencers represents an important countercurrent.
Food Pharmer and the Return of Accountability
One of the most visible examples of this shift is Food Pharmer, whose content focuses on ingredient transparency, misleading food labels, and nutrition awareness. Rather than offering miracle cures or blanket condemnation, his approach relies on reading labels, citing regulations, and encouraging consumers to ask basic questions.
His work has sparked uncomfortable conversations — not just among consumers, but within the food industry itself. Several brands have responded publicly to scrutiny, and regulatory discussions around labelling have gained renewed attention.
What distinguishes this form of influence is not tone, but method. Claims are backed by documents. Opinions are anchored in regulation. Content invites verification rather than blind belief.
As behavioural economist Dan Ariely has observed, “Trust is built not when people are persuasive, but when they are predictable, transparent, and accountable.” Responsible influencers trade speed for credibility — and that trade-off is beginning to resonate.
Why Misinformation Thrives Online
The rise of responsible creators must be understood against the scale of the problem they are responding to. According to a UNESCO report on digital misinformation, false or misleading content spreads significantly faster than verified information, especially when it triggers fear, outrage, or hope.
In India, this challenge is amplified by linguistic diversity, uneven digital literacy, and algorithm-driven amplification. Health misinformation, in particular, has proven costly. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, unverified remedies and conspiracy theories circulated widely, often outpacing official communication.
The World Health Organization warned of an “infodemic,” noting that “misinformation spreads faster than facts in times of crisis, undermining public trust and health outcomes.” In such an environment, influence without responsibility becomes dangerous.
What Responsible Influence Looks Like
Responsible influencers are not defined by perfection or neutrality. They are defined by process. They disclose sources. They correct errors. They differentiate opinion from evidence. They resist the temptation to over-simplify complex issues for engagement alone.
Importantly, many of these creators operate without institutional backing, formal training, or editorial teams. Their credibility is built over time, often at the cost of slower growth or limited monetisation. This deserves recognition.
It is also worth noting that responsibility does not mean antagonism toward industry or institutions. Some brands have engaged constructively with criticism, improved disclosures, or clarified claims. Regulation, when responsive, has also played a role. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), for instance, has periodically updated labelling norms to improve consumer clarity.
Progress, when it happens, is often the result of pressure combined with dialogue — not outrage alone.
The Limits and Risks of the Influencer Model
At the same time, responsibility cannot rest on individual creators alone. Influencers, however credible, are not regulators. They operate without statutory accountability and are vulnerable to harassment, legal intimidation, and burnout.
There is also the risk of hero-worship. No single creator should become the sole authority on complex subjects like nutrition, health, or finance. As media scholar Claire Wardle has cautioned, “Replacing institutional trust with personality trust simply shifts the problem.”
The goal, therefore, is not to anoint new gatekeepers, but to raise the baseline of credibility across the ecosystem.
Platforms, Policy, and Public Responsibility
Platforms cannot remain neutral conduits when their algorithms actively reward sensationalism. Transparency around content amplification, clearer labelling of sponsored material, and stronger action against repeat misinformation are no longer optional.
Regulators, too, must strike a balance — protecting free expression while enforcing accountability where public harm is evident. India’s evolving digital governance framework will need to recognise that influence today carries consequences comparable to traditional media.
Finally, audiences matter. Responsible influence survives only when users reward depth over drama, verification over virality. Media literacy, therefore, becomes as important as regulation.
India does not lack voices. It lacks filters. In a digital environment flooded with advice, outrage, and half-truths, responsible influencers offer something increasingly rare: pause. They remind audiences that credibility is built slowly, that facts matter, and that influence carries ethical weight.
The future of India’s public discourse will not be shaped only by who has the largest following, but by who earns the deepest trust. And that trust, once built, may be one of the most valuable public resources the internet can still offer.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of The Logical Take, a commentary section of The Logical Indian. The views expressed are based on research, constitutional values, and the author’s analysis of publicly reported events. They are intended to encourage informed public discourse and do not seek to target or malign any community, institution, or individual.
