India hits 133k finfluencers
SEBI escalated over 133,000 incidents of misleading or manipulative social‑media content by 'finfluencers' as of February 2026, highlighting large‑scale retail misinformation (cnbctv18.com). Notably, SEBI is reportedly not yet using AI tools for that monitoring — a gap given the volume (cnbctv18.com).
In a written Lok Sabha reply dated March 23, 2026 the Finance Ministry said SEBI had escalated 1.33 lakh (133,000) misleading or manipulative securities‑related social‑media posts to platform providers as of February 28, 2026. (sansad.in) The parliamentary reply, submitted by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, explicitly stated SEBI is not using AI tools to track misleading securities content on social media. (medianama.com) That contrasts with public remarks by SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey reported on March 2, 2026 that the regulator had removed more than 1.2 lakh misleading finfluencer posts using an AI tool called "Sudarshan." (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The dates make the gap stark: the "Sudarshan" removal claim was reported March 2, 2026 while the Finance Ministry's Lok Sabha reply saying SEBI does not use AI is dated March 23, 2026, producing an apparent inconsistency in official accounts. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The Lok Sabha reply also said SEBI escalates complaints to social‑media platform providers for takedown and manages investor grievances through its SCORES online complaints portal, and that SEBI does not have consolidated data on investor losses from impersonation. (medianama.com) SEBI’s recent enforcement record sits alongside regulatory moves such as its January 29, 2025 circular tightening finfluencer rules and high‑profile actions (including removals and bans) against unregistered advisers, which regulators cite when explaining the surge in escalations. (taxmann.com)
