Singer and music executive Charles Enebeli, popularly known as D’Prince has criticised the rising use of cyberbullying as a revenue source in the entertainment industry.

He raised the issue in a post on X, describing the practice as a harmful trend where certain podcasts and media outlets rely on controversy and targeted attacks to drive income.

D’Prince noted that creatives already faced heavy pressure to sustain their careers and livelihoods.

He argued that online attention should never come at the cost of an artist’s wellbeing.

He added that coordinated online hostility was becoming common across sectors, not just entertainment.

He wrote: “Cyber bullying has increasingly become a dangerous business model in Nigeria, to the extent that some podcasts and media platforms are now created primarily to monetise paid narratives, controversy, and targeted online attacks.

“Creatives already face immense pressure simply trying to survive, sustain their careers, and continue doing what they love in order to put food on the table. No amount of internet clout is worth an artist’s mental health, dignity, or emotional wellbeing.

“No creative deserves coordinated hate fueled by propaganda, engagement farming, or paid online agendas and this extends beyond entertainment to every sector operating within the social media space”.

He called for stronger accountability and professionalism in journalism and digital media to address the problem.

“We urgently need greater accountability, professionalism, and humanity in modern journalism and digital media culture in order to curb the growing wave of toxic fanaticism online”, he added.

While supporting freedom of speech, he cautioned that the line between casual online interaction and cyberbullying was thin and urged the public to show more empathy.

“As we all continue to exercise our constitutional right to freedom of speech, we must also remember that there is a very thin line between online banter and cyberbullying. Let us choose empathy over cruelty, because every single person is fighting battles the world may never see”, he concluded.