Services have appeared on social media offering to close a content creator's account for money through the collective submission of complaints. These individuals, referred to as digital 'supari killers,' offer to attack accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube via mass reporting.
An investigation by India Today OSINT revealed five such websites. The cost of their services ranges from a few tens to thousands of rupees. This raises the question of how much the abuse of the reporting system can affect the recognition and income of digital creators.
Mass reporting implies sending a large number of violation reports against a social media account so that the platform conducts a review and takes action if a rule is broken. Although the reporting system is intended to inform about unacceptable content and rule-breaking accounts, its coordinated use can be aimed at harassing a specific person. Nevertheless, receiving a complaint itself does not guarantee account closure.
The five websites discovered by India Today OSINT claim to provide mass reporting services for Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and other platforms. One site claims it can delete a Facebook profile for approximately 17,000 rupees, a business page for 23,000 rupees, and a group for 28,000 rupees.
Another site offers a service to close YouTube accounts. It states that the cost and timeline will be determined after checking the target account. It is important to note that these are only the claims of these websites, and independent confirmation of whether they can actually close accounts is absent.
The website Naizop sells 'Report Bots' for Instagram; one of their services costs 36 rupees. The site claims that its premium package uses reports from old and seemingly active accounts. They also advise clients to report sudden increases in subscribers or likes on the target account to raise suspicion in Instagram's automated systems. However, the site does not guarantee account deletion.
On the second site, SMM Pirat, there are 20 reporting plans for Instagram, starting from a price of 46 rupees. This resource also claims to provide similar services for other social networks. Some sellers claim that their services help combat fake accounts and trolls, and they promise client confidentiality. Naizop indicates that it cannot provide proof of service completion to maintain the confidentiality of its methods. Many services communicate via Telegram or WhatsApp, while some accept payment only in cryptocurrency.
The issue of alleged abuse of digital reporting became a topic of discussion following the death of 27-year-old financial influencer Vi. Harish from Chennai. Harish, known as 'Finance With Harish,' had over a million subscribers. According to media reports, in the weeks before his suicide, he lost access to his accounts, and his channel was repeatedly subjected to mass reporting.
The police have filed a case on charges of inciting suicide. However, it has not yet been established whether mass reporting had any relation to his death, so a direct conclusion about the link between the two events cannot be drawn.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting published last year, the direct revenue of the Indian content creator economy amounts to between 20 and 25 billion dollars. Forecasts suggest this amount could rise to 100–125 billion dollars by 2030. According to the American company Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Indian creators influence consumer spending worth more than 350 billion dollars annually, and this figure is projected to exceed one trillion dollars by 2030. Furthermore, Google reported that in 2025, the YouTube creative ecosystem contributed more than 18,000 crore rupees to India's GDP and supported over 960 thousand permanent jobs.
For content creators, social networks are the primary source of income, allowing them to reach audiences, earn advertising revenue, and enter into partnerships with brands. Suspension or restriction of account access can negatively affect their income. This can also affect people associated with content creators in video production and other work.
Meta has named coordinated abuse of the reporting function a security threat. In the company's view, such actions can be used to suppress people's voices. Nevertheless, the platform's review process between receiving a complaint about an account and its suspension is crucial. Therefore, mass reporting cannot be considered the reason for action against an account without confirming the cause of such measures.
