SEBI Partners with YouTube, Telegram to Stop Fake Financial Advice
India’s market watchdog SEBI is now working directly with YouTube and Telegram to stop unregistered financial influencers from giving fake stock tips. This move comes as part of a bigger plan to protect investors from losing money due to bad advice on social media.
According to a report by Moneycontrol, SEBI confirmed it is in active talks with major tech platforms to reduce risks from unregistered finfluencers. The regulator said it is “thankful to all those who are co-operating in reducing this risk” and that “talks are in progress with other media platforms as well“.
SEBI’s Multi-Platform Strategy
SEBI has adopted a multi-pronged approach to tackle the growing problem of fake financial advice online. The regulator is not just targeting individual influencers but is also working with the platforms themselves to create better monitoring systems.
Sources close to the matter revealed that most social media platforms have shown a positive response to SEBI’s requests. These platforms are expected to introduce new measures to stop people from misusing their services against investors.
The regulator has made it clear that platforms which don’t cooperate may face consequences. SEBI-regulated entities might not be allowed to do business with platforms that don’t align with the regulator’s goals.
Recent Actions Against Finfluencers
SEBI has already taken strong action against several popular financial influencers. In December 2024, the regulator banned YouTuber Ravindra Balu Bharti and ordered him to return ₹9.5 crore earned through illegal activities. Bharti had 1.9 million subscribers across two YouTube channels and was providing unregistered investment advice.
The regulator has also flagged 8,890 misleading posts about securities markets for legal action. Other influencers like P R Sundar, Baap of Charts, and Asmita Patel have faced similar penalties for running unregistered advisory services.
New Rules for Educational Content
In January 2025, SEBI introduced strict new rules for financial educators. Anyone providing market education can now only use stock price data that is at least three months old. This prevents influencers from disguising live stock tips as educational content.
The regulator has also banned unregistered finfluencers from making any claims about returns or performance on their platforms. These measures aim to create a clear line between genuine education and illegal advisory services.
SEBI’s crackdown has already impacted the influencer industry, with brand deal rates dropping by 40-60% as companies become more cautious about working with unregistered advisors.
