Right-wing proselytizers thrive on TikTok

BENGALURU: It’s a 15-second video. A young Kerala-based TikTok user, dressed in a saffron mundu and a T-shirt with Chhatrapati Shivaji printed on it, lip-syncs the Sangh Prarthana (the prayer song of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and gives the RSS salute at the end of it.

The Sangh Prarthana series of videos was viewed 55 million times. This video is among thousands that contain politically right-wing messaging and is hosted by TikTok, the short-video app owned by Chinese tech company Bytendance. Major sources for such videos are Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.