{
  "id": 5475449,
  "title": "Inside Bollywood’s paid trolling industry: How crores are spent to destroy star reputations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/inside-bollywoods-paid-trolling-industry-how-crores-are-spent-to",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-04T02:49:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/bollywood-paid-trolling-pr-wars-crores-spent-destroy-star-reputations-10857145/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Inside Bollywood's paid trolling industry: Crores spent to destroy star reputations\n\nIn today's digital age, reputation management has become a crucial aspect of a celebrity's PR machinery. Paid trolling, a growing trend in the Indian film industry, is now a part of every film's budget. Even if a star does not actively participate in paid trolling, they still require an Online Reputation Management (ORM) agency for damage control.\n\nThe process begins when an ORM agency detects a perceived coincidence, such as two young individuals sharing vacation pictures with identical backgrounds. The agency then activates its troll farm - a network of faceless individuals hired to post and amplify false or misleading content on social media. For instance, a troll claimed that actor Kartik Aaryan was dating an underage girl, despite the girl's Instagram bio stating she was 18.\n\nThis insidious practice has become as widespread in the Indian film ecosystem as escalating entourage costs and corporate booking. Paid trolling is not entirely new; in the past, rival stars would pay for space in newspapers to anonymously report leaks. However, with social media's anonymity and lack of accountability, the situation has escalated. Actors now find themselves in a constant battle to maintain their reputation, with PR agencies working overtime to run each other down on social media.\n\nThe economics of paid trolling vary depending on the size and duration of the campaign. Mass reporting of an account can cost as little as a few thousand rupees, while larger, sustained smear campaigns can cost upwards of Rs 50 lakh. Human troll farms are more costly than bots, but they provide a more human touch to the trolling process. Despite the potential for harm, the pressure to maintain a positive reputation often forces actors to rely on the services of ORM agencies.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}