Old video of Jyoti Malhotra’s ‘trashy’ behaviour in China goes viral again: ‘Tarnishing India’s image'

Travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra, arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive info with Pakistani spies, had soarked backlash over her behavior in China.

Published on: May 20, 2025, 10:57:24 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra has been arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistani intelligence operatives. In the wake of her arrest, old videos of Malhotra travelling to Pakistan and China have resurfaced online. One such video from 2024 shows the travel vlogger in China, where her behaviour had sparked backlash at the time.

Jyoti Malhotra's old video from China goes viral again after her arrest

The controversial clip

The video in question was shared on YouTube in June 2024. It shows Jyoti Malhotra making a series of bizarre decisions in China - including, but not limited to, forcing a man to swap his window seat on the bullet train, climbing onto a stranger’s scooter and forcing a lift out of her, snatching another woman’s bike and driving on the motorway, travelling on buses without paying and complaining that no one in the country speaks English.

HT.com had covered the backlash the video received at the time it was published online.

Video resurfaces

The video has now resurfaced on social media again after Malhotra was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan. It has once again sparked backlash, with people criticising the travel vlogger from Haryana for tarnishing India’s image in a foreign country.

Public backlash against Jyoti Malhotra

Her behaviour in China was variously labelled as “trashy”, “rude” and “ridiculous”.

“Yeah I remember this. I thought she was some half witted YouTuber trying to act weird in foreign country to get some attention. Never knew she was a traitor wantonly doing it,” read one comment under the resurfaced video on X.

(Also read: Yatri Doctor breaks silence on Pakistan trip after Jyoti Malhotra arrest: 'I visited because...')

Another viewer wrote: “Jyoti Malhotra really thought she was shooting vlogs. Turns out she was filming the trailer of her own downfall.”

Jyoti Malhotra, a resident of Hisar, Haryana, was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen. She is currently a first-year MA student at a college in Patiala.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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