Actor Fatima Sana Shaikh, best known for her performances in Dangal and most recently seen in Hunkkaar - The Roar, spoke about social media censorship, online trolling and the need for greater accountability during her 'Fatima NO Filter' session at NDTV Yuva 2026.
Speaking about whether there should be censorship on social media, Fatima said that some form of regulation is necessary, particularly when it comes to faceless accounts and people who post abusive comments without taking responsibility for their words.
"Absolutely. But how are we going to do this? Because there are so many faceless accounts or bots, or people who do not take accountability. They will question you about your looks, about 50 different things. And some of these are people who have "live and let live" written in their bios. But whenever they talk to someone or talk about someone else, they speak in such a disgusting manner."
Fatima stressed that people need to be held accountable for what they post online. She also pointed out that online abuse is not limited to actors or other public figures, with many young women receiving inappropriate and disturbing messages on social media.
"I genuinely feel it is time to take accountability. If someone has made bad comments, whoever made them should be put in jail. Until there is fear of the law, that person will not change. And it is not just public figures; there are so many people, especially girls with open accounts, who receive so many messages from boys saying really horrible things."
The actor also spoke about the impact that relentless trolling can have on younger people. While she said she has learnt to deal with online negativity, she expressed concern about those who may struggle to cope with sustained online bullying.
"But we have learnt how to deal with it. The younger generation, though- how many of them end up taking the wrong step because they are trolled to the point where they are bullied so deeply that it scars their soul and they cannot take it anymore."
Asked if she had ever come across a comment that affected her so deeply that she felt it crossed a line, Fatima said she prefers to simply remove such comments from her own social media page.
"On my page, I simply delete it. If someone comments something on my page, I delete it. It is my page; I do not want to see it. Otherwise, you just have to learn to live with it."
Fatima was also asked about paid trolling, where individuals or groups allegedly pay others to post negative content about someone. She said she believes accepting money to target another person is also a moral issue.
"It is wrong, isn't it? It shouldn't be done. Nothing negative should be done. If you are paying me to speak about someone, then I am also at fault for taking that money. Someone's moral compass has to stop them. If everyone is corrupt, how will things work?"
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