YouTube dismisses bot-view claims for Vijay's 'Thalapathy Kacheri'
What's the story
The first song from actor Vijay's upcoming film, Jana Nayagan, was released on November 8. The track, titled Thalapathy Kacheri, has since racked up over 35 million views on YouTube. However, some social media users speculated that these numbers may have been artificially inflated with the help of bots. In response to these claims, YouTube has clarified its view verification process.
Verification process
Here's what Team YouTube said
Responding to a user's concern about Thalapathy Kacheri's rapid rise in views, Team YouTube explained that the platform has a system to verify engagement metrics such as likes, views, and subscriptions. They stated, "We have a system in place to verify engagement metrics (likes, views, subs) if they're from a legitimate traffic source." "View counts *can* slow down or freeze as we verify they're real (from humans, not computer programs)."
Twitter Post
See what YouTube posted
We have a system in place to verify engagement
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) November 11, 2025metrics (likes, views, subs) if they're from a legitimate traffic source. View counts *can* slow down or freeze as we verify they're real (from humans, not computer programs). More on this here! https://t.co/Xm2btxuQk7
Political video claim
YouTube also responded to another user's speculation
Another user suggested that YouTube may have flagged Thalapathy Kacheri as a political campaign video, which could explain the temporary freeze on view counts. The user wrote, "YouTube flagged #Thalapathykatcheri as a campaign video for Mr. Vijay and TVK." They speculated that Google Ads reviewed and restored the views last night after confirming it wasn't political. YouTube responded, "To maintain a fair & positive experience across YouTube, we have systems that verify if views are valid & should be counted!"
Twitter Post
'To maintain a fair & positive experience...'
To maintain a fair & positive experience across YouTube, we have systems that verify if views are valid & should be counted! more on that here: https://t.co/7ia2e2f2VE
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) November 12, 2025
Song details
More about 'Jana Nayagan' and 'Thalapathy Kacheri'
The song Thalapathy Kacheri has been composed by Anirudh Ravichander, with lyrics written by Arivu. The track features vocals from Anirudh, Arivu, and Vijay himself. Jana Nayagan is helmed by H Vinoth and will be released on January 9, 2026. The film also features Pooja Hegde, Mamitha Baiju, Bobby Deol, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, and Priyamani.