Influencers claim cash offers to post scripted reels against AI Summit

New Delhi: Days after the shirtless Youth Congress protest inside Bharat Mandapam on February 20, a fresh row played out on X over alleged paid social media content targeting the AI Summit. 

Multiple Instagram creators posted screenshots and videos claiming they were offered cash to publish scripted negative reels and Stories.

*Understand the Sinister, Shirtless and Shameless Anti India (AI) Plot* of Congress

🚨How Congress was giving money to create fake narratives to harm India’s image !

🚨Were negative stories planted and amplified against AI Summit by Congress to hurt India’s prospects?

Facts… https://t.co/grioPMeVWX

— Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) February 26, 2026

NewsDrum reviewed the primary X posts, threads, videos and linked posts.

A February 25 post that described a “big expose” and claimed multiple influencers had received similar approaches. 

The post alleged offers of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per reel for a scripted narrative calling the AI Summit “useless”, and alleging public funds were benefiting “Ambani-Adani”. 

It carried a three-video compilation with WhatsApp chat screenshots and influencer voiceovers, and showed 161,971 views at the time of capture.

🚨BIG EXPOSE: MANY Influencers have now come forward exposing the same pattern:

Youth Congress Media Relations allegedly offering ₹10K–₹25K per Reel to push a scripted narrative that the AI Summit is “useless” and that funds are lining “Ambani–Adani pockets.”

This wasn’t… pic.twitter.com/ZrX8r5Alsd

— BALA (@erbmjha) February 25, 2026

On February 26, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla posted that the protest and the alleged influencer outreach were part of what he called a “paid” narrative exercise. 

Poonawalla shared an India TV debate clip and asked whether negative stories were planted and amplified against the summit. 

Separate posts circulating alongside the compilation included a video and screenshots attributed to creator Vinayak Dev Trivedi. 

The screenshots showed a contact saved as “Youth Congress Media Relations” offering up to Rs 25,000 for a reel, with suggested lines attacking the summit and the government.

Youth Congress Media Relations messaged this influencer to make content that showed the "AI Summit was of no use to the country & Modi is wasting money".

Budget = 25k for a reel.

Congress is India's biggest inside enemy!! pic.twitter.com/pTiF2WQRWp

— 🦋Anjna🦋 (@SaffronQueen_) February 25, 2026

Other creators named across the posts included Charmingchaoss and Preeti Bhati, who posted their own video claims of receiving similar messages and scripts. 

Posts also repeated the names Dev Vedik and Anushka as having received comparable pitches, with some posts citing higher figures for larger accounts.

The screenshots shared across posts repeated similar talking points, including “AI Summit = waste of public money” and “only benefits Ambani-Adani”, along with hashtags such as #AISummitScam and #ModiFail. 

The posts showed creators saying they refused the pitches or were exposing the messages. 

NewsDrum will update this report if any influencer issues an on-record rebuttal with supporting proof, if a Youth Congress or Congress office-bearer responds directly to the WhatsApp claims, or if law enforcement publicly links the allegations to any case filed over the protest.