Study reports sharp rise in anti-South Asian hate on US social media
A report by the Centre for the Study of Organised Hate says monthly anti-South Asian hate posts on X increased 240 per cent between January 2024 and June 2026. It links the rise to immigration politics, economic anxiety, platform changes and the growing visibility of South Asian Americans.
Online hate targeting South Asians in the United States has risen sharply since Donald Trump returned to the presidency, according to a report by the Washington-based Centre for the Study of Organised Hate. The report, titled “The Rising Tide of Anti-South Asian Hate in the United States”, found that monthly hateful posts on X increased by 240 per cent between January 2024 and June 2026. The volume rose from 12,904 posts to 43,843, with Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis among the main targets.
The study linked the increase to immigration enforcement, economic anxiety and the growing visibility of South Asian Americans. It also identified attacks against political figures including Kamala Harris, Usha Vance, Kash Patel, Zohran Mamdani and Raja Krishnamoorthi. CSOH executive director Raqib Naik said rhetoric from senior government figures was contributing to harmful narratives.
He said many South Asian people felt vulnerable as online abuse increasingly appeared to manifest in real-world incidents. The report also criticised social-media algorithms and the rollback of content moderation, fact-checking and safety measures. It said the transformation of X after Elon Musk’s acquisition had helped normalise racist and violent language that had previously been confined largely to fringe spaces.
The study recorded more than half a million anti-South Asian posts on X between January 2025 and June 2026, with volume rising 75 per cent during that period. It also identified 397,522 hateful or dehumanising mentions on 4chan, 8chan and Gab in 2025. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi said the increase did not occur independently of political rhetoric.
He called on Americans and leaders of both parties to challenge racism and xenophobia. The report identified debates over the H-1B visa programme and proposed immigration legislation as major triggers, particularly for Indians, who accounted for 71 per cent of approved H-1B petitions in the 2024 financial year. It also cited a recent racist encounter described by Indian travel creator Paramvir Singh Beniwal in Las Vegas as an example of how online stereotypes can be reflected offline.
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