The Mohak Mangal vs ANI Clash: A Wake-up Call for all Creators?
In what’s now being called the ‘Mohak Mangal vs ANI’ case, several creators are being targeted for using short news clips under fair use. Mohak Mangal, Thugesh, Rajat Pawar, Parush Sharma. These are some creators who used some 2-4-10 second clips of the big news agency ANI in their videos under fair use. They have more than one copyright strike so far. ANI employees have demanded Rs 15 lakh, Rs 30 lakh or Rs 50 lakh to end the strike. This will not only end the strike. But you will automatically become a part of our membership for a year, the ANI employee said.
So something like this is happening now. And I don’t know whether YouTube knows it or not, but I am sure the channel will not be deleted because most of the big YouTubers are together in support. Dhruv Rathe, Nitish Rajput, Professor of How, Sonu Sharma, Manoj Dey, and many more creators are in support.
If blackmail starts, the creator industry, which is emerging now, will be finished long before.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that Creators should show the world through their creativity what India is and how it is. And if such extortion happens with creators, will the creators be able to do this?
If you went to Mohak Mangal’s video titled ‘Dear ANI’ that created trend of Mohak Mangal vs ANI. Which has now been taken down by Mohak Mangal due to a defamation suit filed against him in the Delhi High Court. And saw that many big creators have commented and supported him. Other Creators did the same because this is not just about only Mohak Mangal vs ANI. It is about a Creator community vs ANI.
Only a few creators can make money on YouTube
Today, the creator economy has reached 190 billion dollars worldwide. There are 2 to 2.5 million, i.e., 20 to 25 lakh active creators in India. And only 8 to 10% of them have been able to monetize their content. So, imagine how much potential there is in the creator economy. Which is growing at almost 25 to 30% annually. YouTube has given rupees 21000 crores to creators, artists, and media companies in the last 3 years.
What PM Modi Said About India’s Content Creators?
The WAVES (World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit) event of 2025. India’s first summit for the media and entertainment industry, specifically focusing on the Indian media and entertainment industry, was held in Mumbai. PM Modi highlighted India’s creative strengths on a global platform. He said, With its thriving creative industry, India is now a global hub for film production, digital content, gaming, fashion, music, and live concerts, offering a unique blend of traditional and modern talent. PM Modi urged investors to invest in Indian artists, inventors, and creators. In the WAVES summit 2025, artists, innovators, investors, and policymakers from over 100 countries have gathered under one roof.
After that, Neal Mohan announced that YouTube will invest 850 crores in the next two years to give a boost to Indian creators. He is also the Indian-origin CEO of YouTube. And he calls India a ‘Creator Nation’.
But in reality, when such big creators are not safe, what will happen to the small creators? Doing YouTube is the best and the worst. Because many new creators do not even know the difference between a copyright claim and a copyright strike. They get 3 strikes someday and do not know when the channel will end.
They Took Down My Channel: 7 Strikes in One Night – My YouTube Story After the Mohak Mangal vs ANI Controversy
I am telling my own story. Two years ago, I too used to work on a channel which had almost 70 thousand subscribers. It had educational content uploaded. I used to regularly make and upload videos. One day, when I woke up from sleep, I saw that there were 7 strikes on the channel. I was shocked, and along with all the 7, there was one person. I thought, now I have understood.
At the company where I used to work earlier, I uploaded basic education training videos of their products, and a leader of the same company launched this strike. I tried to save my channel, but at last got my channel deleted. Then I understood that it is not right to do so on YouTube without backup.
It is almost impossible to create a video without clips for mimicry, reaction, infotainment, and educational videos without using relevant clips. The audience will not engage, and creators will lose creativity and motivation for content creation. When someone worked for a year on a channel day and night, it vanished like water in a week after the copyright strike.
Is Fair Use Dying? Lessons from the Mohak Mangal vs ANI Case to Avoid YouTube Copyright Strikes
If you create your content, the chances of getting a strike are very less. And it is not that you will get a strike in your creator journey. Nothing can be said about the copyright strike clearly. Because there is no mention of time that tells how long it is okay to use a clip. I got a lesson from there, create content, but don’t do full-time content creation in the beginning if you don’t have a good backup. because if something like this happens to me again, then I will be of no use.
So, at the end, I would like to say that content creation is one of the best things to do, but initially, do it part-time, once you are well established, then do it full-time.
To avoid copyright issues, educate yourself and consider using creative animations and graphics to convey the message, making the content more engaging and easier to understand. For this, you will either have to learn it yourself, or you will have to have enough money to get it done by someone else.
