iWorld
Jackie Thakkar joins Nikhil Kamath’s WTF as Lead Creative Producer
Mumbai: Jackie Thakkar is on the move again, and the timing is telling. As digital studios race to mint scalable intellectual property, the creative producer known for marrying brands and storytelling has joined WTF as lead creative producer, tasked with developing and executing new-age content IPs at Nikhil Kamath’s content studio.
Thakkar arrives with a résumé built for the attention economy. At JioHotstar, where he served as supervising creative producer for branded content, he led and created India’s Ultimate MotoStar, a Castrol Power1-backed reality show that ran on MTV and JioHotstar in 2024. He steered it from script to screen, working on anchor links, contestant diaries, edits and final delivery. The show drew strong reviews and added to his credentials as a builder of advertiser-funded entertainment.
His stint also included shaping title marketing and branded projects across marquee channels such as Colors TV, MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Campaigns with Amazon miniTV, Garnier and Castrol Power1 ranged from integrations to full web series. An early win included cracking a brief for Imperial Blue’s “Men Will Be Men” communication and helping craft a Holi campaign around Bigg Boss stars.
Before the broadcast scale came digital muscle. At Pocket Aces’ FilterCopy, first as senior creative associate and later as creative director, Thakkar led writers and directors while pushing new video IPs. His breakout script, When Your Boyfriend Puts You in Awkward Situations, became FilterCopy’s most viewed video of 2020 with more than 20 million views. Projects under his watch collectively crossed 100 million-plus views on YouTube.
Earlier, at Arré, he was part of the four-member team that grew the channel from 300,000 to 2 million subscribers in two years. The platform’s presence expanded nearly sevenfold. His If Gaitonde… spoof series won a 2019 Talentrack Award, and he wrote sketches featuring Vidya Balan, Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao and Kartik Aaryan, alongside more than 100 articles spanning pop culture, politics and relationships.
The backstory stretches from copywriting at Merry Men to assistant directing in Los Angeles after a filmmaking and creative-writing course at UCLA. Even his teenage years included film criticism for BookMyShow and campus pieces for AOL.
The through line is clear: branded stories that travel. As platforms blur the lines between advertising and entertainment, creators who can sell without seeming to sell are in demand.
New studio, bigger canvas. In the content arms race, Jackie Thakkar is betting that sharp ideas still cut through the noise. And in a market hooked on views, brands and virality, the next hit is always one script away.
iWorld
Meta warns 200 users after fake Whatsapp spyware attack
Italy-targeted campaign used unofficial app to deploy surveillance spyware.
MUMBAI: It looked like a message, but it behaved like a mole. Meta has warned around 200 users most of them in Italy after uncovering a targeted spyware campaign that weaponised a fake version of WhatsApp to infiltrate devices. The attack, first reported by Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, relied on classic social engineering with a modern twist: persuading users to download an unofficial WhatsApp clone embedded with surveillance software. The malicious application, believed to be developed by Italian firm SIO through its subsidiary ASIGINT, was designed to mimic the real app closely enough to bypass suspicion.
Meta’s security teams identified roughly 200 individuals who may have installed the compromised version, triggering immediate countermeasures. Affected users were logged out of their accounts and issued alerts warning of potential privacy breaches, with the company describing the incident as a “targeted social engineering attempt” aimed at gaining device-level access.
The malicious app was not distributed via official app stores but circulated through third-party channels, where it was presented as a legitimate WhatsApp alternative. Once installed, it reportedly allowed external operators to access sensitive data stored on the device turning a simple download into a potential surveillance gateway.
According to Techcrunch, Meta is now preparing legal action against the spyware developers to curb further misuse. The company, however, has not disclosed details about the specific individuals targeted or the extent of data compromised.
A Whatsapp spokesperson reiterated that user safety remains the top priority, particularly for those misled into installing the fake iOS application. Meanwhile, reports from La Repubblica suggest the spyware may be linked to “Spyrtacus”, a strain previously associated with Android-based attacks that could intercept calls, activate microphones and even access cameras.
The episode underscores a growing reality in the digital age, the threat is no longer just what you download, but where you download it from. As unofficial apps become increasingly convincing, the line between communication tool and covert surveillance is getting harder to spot and far easier to exploit.
