Aryan Nishad’s Bribes FYI shuts down after going viral, seeks help to return
The crowdsourced anti-corruption platform Bribes.fyi has temporarily shut down following a massive surge in traffic that overwhelmed its infrastructure. Founder Aryan Nishad is now seeking legal and financial expertise to manage the platform's growth and ensure responsible operation.
Why it matters
The project highlights the challenges of scaling grassroots digital activism and the legal complexities of managing crowdsourced data on sensitive topics like corruption.
Aryan Nishad had a fairly straightforward idea: if Indians keep being asked for bribes at government offices, why not at least create a public record of those experiences?Then the internet did what the internet does best — it took a student project and gave it a much bigger audience than expected.Bribes.fyi, the crowdsourced platform created by Nishad to anonymously document alleged bribery demands, has now been shut down temporarily after an extraordinary spike in traffic. The team says it is taking a step back to put stronger legal and financial infrastructure in place, with plans to return.The twist is almost more interesting than the original idea.From side project to “we need a CA”When Nishad launched Bribes.fyi, the concept was deliberately simple.
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