Threats – Journalists

After working for nearly 14 years in different Telugu television and print media, Thulasi started an independent YouTube channel in 2020. According to her, there were professional constraints to her work owing to shrinking Telugu media spaces and a void of critical voices in Telugu virtual space. Thulasi’s recent outcry on Facebook points to the appalling trend of ‘organised’ abuse and harassment.

Thulasi’s work is loaded with facts and research. Her videos – such as “How India Sold out to Adani”, “India’s Situation after Hindenburg Report on Adani”, “Rishi’s Message to India”, “Rajasthan Nine-years Dalit Boy Issue”, “Politics Behind Attack on Atheist Bairi Naresh”, and “India Railways Story” – have drawn swelling viewership and a whopping 1.79 lakh subscribers. But this is accompanied by ‘designated trolls’ who graphically describe ways to assault her. A glance at the comments and posts shows that there are YouTube channels and several social media users committed to attacking her and anyone who supports her work.

In January 2022, she filed a complaint with the cybercrime wing of the Hyderabad city police. But there has been no action against the perpetrator who ran a malicious campaign, which included morphing her images. Interestingly, not even the intervention of Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s top leader and IT minister, K Tarakarama Rao, has prompted any action. KTR is the son of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.