iWorld
PM Modi hits 30M subscribers on Youtube
World’s most-followed leader adds to 100M Instagram milestone last month.
MUMBAI: PM Narendra Modi just clicked ‘subscribe’ on digital dominance because when your YouTube channel outpaces world leaders like a viral cat video, even politics gets binge-worthy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Youtube channel has surged past 30 million subscribers, solidifying his status as the most-followed world leader on the platform, officials announced on 24 February 2026. This milestone leaves former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro second with about one-fourth of Modi’s count in the dust, while US President Donald Trump trails with roughly one-seventh the subscribers.
The achievement builds on Modi’s Instagram triumph last month, where he became the first global leader to cross 100 million followers. On Instagram, Modi towers over peers, Trump at 43 million, Prabowo Subianto at 15 million, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at 14 million, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at 11 million, and Javier Milei at 6 million their combined totals still fall short of Modi’s solo mark.
Domestically, the gap is equally stark. Modi’s subscriber base is three times that of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and over four times the channels of the Aam Aadmi Party and Indian National Congress. On Instagram, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has 16 million followers, while Gandhi counts 12 million.
Modi joined YouTube and Instagram in 2014, evolving both into powerhouses of digital outreach with governance highlights, cultural moments, and direct citizen engagement. In a world where likes and shares shape narratives, Modi isn’t just leading polls, he’s leading the scroll, turning policy into playlist gold.
iWorld
Meta signs multiyear AI deal with News Corp
Agreement worth up to $50 million annually covers WSJ, New York Post and UK titles.
MUMBAI: Meta just bought itself a front-row seat to the newsroom because when AI needs facts, even Zuckerberg is willing to pay the subscription fee. Meta Platforms has signed a multiyear artificial intelligence content licensing agreement with News Corp that could be worth up to $50 million (£39 million) a year, The Wall Street Journal reported on 25 February 2026. The deal, expected to run for at least three years, grants Meta access to News Corp’s US and UK content including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post for training AI models and powering real-time information retrieval in its products.
Australian mastheads such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun are not included. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson revealed the arrangement during a Morgan Stanley technology conference in San Francisco, describing news organisations as a vital “input company” in the AI ecosystem. “We’re essentially an input company,” he said. “The great threat in the age of AI is going to be to what you might call output companies.”
Thomson emphasised the value of reliable journalism as foundational infrastructure for AI systems, noting regular conversations with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg via Whatsapp and ongoing talks with OpenAI’s Sam Altman. He added that News Corp is in “advanced stage” negotiations for additional deals, promising further announcements soon.
The agreement follows News Corp’s 2024 five-year partnership with OpenAI (reportedly worth more than $250 million) and reflects Meta’s broader push to secure content licences. The company has already confirmed deals with People Inc, USA Today, CNN and Fox News, though financial terms remain undisclosed.
Publishers remain divided, some pursue partnerships for revenue, while others litigate. News Corp subsidiaries have sued Perplexity over copyright infringement, The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, yet the same NYT struck a separate AI licensing deal with Amazon reportedly worth $20–25 million annually.
Thomson summed up the dual strategy as “woo or sue” seeking commercial agreements where possible, legal action when content is used without permission.
In an AI race where data is oxygen, Meta isn’t just training models, it’s buying the raw material for tomorrow’s answers, one headline at a time.
