Dhruv Rathee among TIME Magazine’s ‘next generation leaders 2023’; YouTuber reacts

Dhruv Rathee began his YouTube channel in 2014. As of now, he has garnered over 13 million subscribers and uploaded over 500 videos on his channel.

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee has been featured on the list of TIME Magazine's ‘next generation leaders 2023’. Rathee was named for his “fact-checking” work and presenting “educational content” on various topics through his channel, which has over 13 million subscribers and features more than 500 videos.

YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.

The 28-year-old content creator also took to social media platform X to celebrate the news on Friday. “TIME Magazine’s Next Generation Leaders 2023. I’m honoured to be included in this prestigious list and proud to represent India internationally. Thank you.”

Rathee stumbled upon YouTube in 2014. He initially started a travel blog, however, later switched to creating fact-checking and related content after realising that Indians weren’t trained on how to “use the internet and blindly trusted whatever they saw” online, TIME quoted him as saying. “My aim is to present things as simply as possible and break down complex issues in simple words,” he said.

'Faced backlash, trolling'

With a strong fan base, Rathee's work hasn't gone unnoticed by different sections. The YouTuber made headlines when he addressed the release of the contentious film 'The Kerala Story' in May. Rathee said though he used the government's numbers to counter the claims of the film, he was trolled online and faced backlash including rape threats directed at his wife for the video.

“In another instance, his video was blocked by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting last September, over claims that it included a distorted map of the Indian-administered territory of Kashmir,” the magazine notes.

Rathee was born in Haryana and has studied mechanical engineering in Germany. On the success of his channel, he expressed “I’m surprised doing such a simple thing can bring so much attention…maybe because no one tries to dare to do that.”