YouTuber Mohak Mangal alleges extortion by news agency ANI over copyright strikes
New Delhi: Popular YouTuber and policy educator Mohak Mangal has alleged that leading news agency Asian News International (ANI) is engaging in a systematic pattern of extortion under the guise of copyright enforcement. In a video titled "Dear ANI", Mangal details how ANI issued multiple copyright strikes on his YouTube channel and then allegedly demanded a payment of ₹45-50 lakh to revoke the strikes and avoid channel deletion.
Mangal recounted that the issue began when ANI sent a copyright strike over a video he made on the Kolkata rape case, citing the use of just 11 seconds of ANI’s footage in a 16-minute video. This was followed by a second strike for his 38-minute video on Operation Sindoor, in which 9 seconds of footage featuring Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had been used. According to YouTube policy, three copyright strikes can result in immediate channel termination.
Mangal’s team reached out to ANI to understand how to resolve the matter. In recorded conversations and emails shared in his video, ANI employees allegedly demanded ₹45 lakh plus GST to remove the strikes and grant a two-year subscription to ANI’s footage. When asked about the breakdown of the amount, the ANI representative reportedly explained that the penalty for each copyright strike was ₹5 lakh, adding up to ₹40 lakh for eight videos, alongside an optional annual subscription fee.
“If you want it for a year, pay 30 lakhs. If you want it for 2 years, pay 40 lakhs,” the ANI official was quoted as saying, adding, “We are a different mode, we don’t claim revenue. We put the strike.” The official also reportedly remarked, “I like Mohak’s channel, that’s why I’m talking to you,” positioning the deal as a goodwill gesture.
Mangal called the move “extortion,” alleging that ANI has used similar tactics on several creators across ideological lines, citing cases where others were asked to pay between ₹15 to ₹22 lakh and a recent instance of a creator allegedly paying ₹50 lakh for a one-year reprieve. “This is not a copyright claim, this is a hostage negotiation,” Mangal said in his video. “ANI thought I would beg. I won’t bow down.”
ANI, as a newswire service, licenses footage to media houses and organizations. However, Mangal argues that the use of short clips for commentary should fall under “fair use,” a concept that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, and education.
In response to the alleged extortion, Mangal has taken the matter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In an email sent to Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and I&B Secretary Sanjay Jaju, he wrote, “They are using it as a threat to extort money from me. They have asked for ₹48L+GST to restore my channel.” He emphasized the broader implications for India’s digital content economy, warning that such tactics, if left unchecked, could threaten the growth of India’s online creator ecosystem.
“Indian creators are ‘digital ambassadors of India representing it on the global stage,’” Mangal quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi from a 2024 creator summit. “This movement will not grow if creators are threatened and extorted for money.”
Mangal has urged fellow creators to document and report similar experiences, and has requested that viewers share the video and contact the Ministry with evidence if they too have faced such threats.
As of now, ANI has not issued a public statement in response to these allegations.
Several Youtubers including Dhruv Rathee, Nitish Rajput, Kunal Kamra and others also came out in support of Mangal.
“Full support to you, it seems like ANI is running an extortion racket. All creators need to unite against this,” wrote Dhruv Rathee commenting on the video.
Popular Youtuber Mahesh Keshwala, a.k.a, highlighted, “Thanks for making this video! Even i got a strike and got asked for 15 lakhs in the name of subscription! FOR USING A 2 SECOND CLIP!”
Fact-checker and journalist Mohammed Zubair also amplified the issue on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “Here’s how South Asia’s Leading Multimedia News Agency and Pro-BJP Propaganda Agency @ANI is squeezing several Youtubers for money while YouTube holds a sword on their content. @YouTubeIndia's copyright policy hands @ANI disproportionate power, enabling them to strong-arm creators into licensing deals ranging from ₹15-40 lakh... Several Youtubers have reached out to me with similar complaints."
Zubair tagged YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, calling for greater accountability.
Here's how South Asia's Leading Multimedia News Agency and Pro-BJP Propaganda Agency @ANI is squeezing several Youtubers for money while YouTube holds a sword on their content. @YouTubeIndia's copyright policy hands @ANI disproportionate power, enabling them to strong-arm… pic.twitter.com/Cw7uZImgtu
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) May 25, 2025
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
