Anti-South Asian 'hate speech' on X rises 240% in US, report finds

 

South Asians face online abuse and bullying on social media. Representational image. Photo: AI-generated

A CSOH report says hateful posts targeting Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis increased sharply amid immigration debates, economic anxiety and greater South Asian visibility.

Hateful posts targeting South Asians in the United States on X rose 240% between January 2024 and June 2026, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Organised Hate (CSOH), according to Al Jazeera.

The monthly volume increased from 12,904 posts to 43,843 during the period, while researchers identified more than 542,000 hateful posts targeting South Asians between January 2025 and June 2026.

Researchers identified more than 542,000 hateful posts targeting South Asians living in the US between January 2025 and June 2026, with five of the six highest-volume months recorded towards the end of the period. The report, The Rising Tide of Anti-South Asian Hate in the United States, found the posts using the United Nations definition of hate speech.

Researchers found that nearly half of the hateful posts portrayed South Asians as outsiders who were invading the US, taking jobs or posing a demographic threat. The slur "pajeet" and its variants appeared in 30% of hateful posts on X.

Posts portraying South Asians as dirty or unhygienic also increased by 171%, the report said.

The report said the abuse often blurred distinctions between Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis and between Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.

Immigration and economic tensions

Researchers linked the rise partly to political disputes over immigration, particularly the H-1B visa programme, under which US companies hire skilled foreign workers. Indians account for more than 70% of H-1B visa holders, according to the report.

The researchers identified spikes in anti-South Asian rhetoric around political debates over the programme, including changes introduced by President Donald Trump's administration in 2025.

They also pointed to political rhetoric around immigration and outsourcing. A speech by Trump at an AI summit in July 2025, in which he criticised US technology companies for outsourcing jobs to India, was followed by a sharp increase in anti-South Asian rhetoric, the report said.

The report also cited several social media posts by US government agencies and politicians that researchers said contributed to portraying South Asians as outsiders.

Economic frustration has also contributed to the trend, according to the researchers. They said South Asians, particularly Indian Americans, were increasingly portrayed as taking jobs or exploiting immigration programmes.

Social media and AI fuel abuse

The report said social media had helped turn hostile narratives into targeted harassment, including doxxing, in which individuals' private information is published online.

Researchers also found that generative AI was making it easier to produce images and other content portraying South Asians through racist and dehumanising stereotypes.

They warned that online hostility does not exist separately from real-world discrimination and violence. The report cited recent attacks on South Asian individuals in Utah and Wyoming as examples of how online narratives can overlap with offline hostility.

The study also noted growing political visibility among South Asians in the US, with researchers arguing that the prominence of figures such as Zohran Mamdani, Kamala Harris and Vivek Ramaswamy has made the community more visible in political debates.

CSOH researchers said online and offline forms of hate can reinforce each other as stereotypes move between social media, political discourse and everyday life.