The Viral YouTube Coaches Putting Bihar's Cops On Edge

April 05, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

Hello,

What began as a pandemic-era pivot has transformed coaching centre operators into cult figures with massive online followings—and the power to mobilise thousands of students. Read on!

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How do we, as fact-checkers, decide what to verify? Before that, what does fact-checking involve?

  • Verification of information on the basis of two or more independent sources. 

  • Citing tangible evidence in the fact-checks, which can be seen or clicked on. 

  • Detailing the exact process of investigation, so that any reader can replicate the same process and arrive at the same conclusion. For example, we reveal the tools that we use, the keywords that we use for our searches, etc. 

  • Verification of direct claims, not opinions. We don’t fact-check grey areas. If something is true today, it has to be true later as well!

Some of the key parameters that we look for while deciding what to fact-check:

  • Is the social media post making a direct claim? 

  • How viral is the claim? Virality = Engagement = Shares/ Views/ Retweets/ Forwards 

  • What's the impact of the misinformation being shared? 

  • Does the viral misinformation being shared affect people's lives/ influence opinions?

  • Post an investigation, are you getting information that completely debunks the claim? 

  • Can the claim really be fact-checked?

DECODE

Like, Share, Protest: The Viral YouTube Coaches Putting Bihar's Cops On Edge

Violent protests erupt: In 2022, Bihar witnessed violent protests over alleged irregularities in the Railway Recruitment Board’s Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) exams. Enraged aspirants blocked railway tracks and damaged trains. The government cracked down, filing FIRs against several private coaching teachers, including Khan Sir, accusing them of inciting unrest. 

Police accusations of instigation by coaching operators: The police alleged that coaching operators misled students and instigated them to take to the streets. “When we find that protests are being misguided, taken to the road, and instigated to unleash violence, we take action against them,” Pankaj Darad, ADG (Law & Order) told Umesh Kumar Ray.

With their ability to mobilise thousands of aspirants, Bihar’s digital teachers have become key figures in student activism and exam-related controversies.

'FAKE NEWS’ YOU ALMOST FELL FOR

🔍 A partial arrest list from the violence in Malda, West Bengal (WB) is viral with a misleading communal claim that only Hindus were targeted. Read 🔗 Srijit Das’ ↗️ fact-check.

🔍 Does this video show the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand? Find out in 🔗 Shivam Bhardwaj’s ↗️ fact-check.

🔍 Does this photo show Mahendra Singh Dhoni with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he apparently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? 🔗 Srijanee Chakraborty ↗️ tells you the truth.

🅱️ RECOMMENDS

This week's recommendation is: Repetition makes climate misinformation feel more true — even for those who back climate science

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Verified By Boom is written by Divya Chandra, edited by Adrija Bose and designed by H Shiva Roy Chowdhury.

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