Indian YouTuber reportedly detained in Turkiye for sexist remarks against Turkish women

June 1, 2025 by News Desk

An Indian youtuber, who goes by the alias Malik Swashbuckler, has reportedly been detained by Turkish authorities after a series of disturbing videos surfaced showing him making sexist and sexually explicit comments about Turkish women while walking through public markets.

The videos, recorded in Hindi, initially went unnoticed by locals. But after Turkish social media users flagged the content, it quickly drew outrage online.

In one widely circulated clip, the man is seen roaming with a woman in a busy marketplace, making crude remarks and hurling abuse at shopkeepers after asking whether they sell an Indian tricolour.

In another, more disturbing video, he makes a lewd comment about a Turkish woman and allegedly asks his followers if he should rape her that night.

As per local reports in Turkey, the women in the videos are tourist guides. One of the women has come out and spoken out and said that she is a tour guide. “I thought he is was only making without understanding a word. Since I couldn’t understand anything, I was only making facial gestures,” the woman was reported saying.

Despite the vulgar nature of his content, many of his posts had been drawing lakhs of likes and encouraging comments from some Indian users back home, reflecting a troubling pattern of online validation for misogynistic behaviour.

Out of fear, the man had also issued a public apology before his detention, attempting to downplay the situation after facing severe backlash online. In his apology, he claimed his comments were meant as “jokes” and not intended to offend, but by then, the damage had been done. The apology, however, failed to calm the outrage, both in Turkiye and among sections of Indian users who condemned the remarks.

According to Turkish media outlet Turkiye Today, the man believed he could get away with the comments because he was speaking in Hindi, assuming locals wouldn’t understand. But social media users in Turkiye quickly translated and exposed the content, leading to widespread backlash and prompting authorities to act.

Though the Turkish police have not officially confirmed the influencer’s identity, the offensive videos have since been taken down, and an investigation is underway. The Indian embassy in Turkiye has yet to release a statement on the matter.

The incident has sparked conversations around the responsibility of content creators abroad, the importance of cultural respect, and the dangers of platforming misogyny under the guise of entertainment.