A new study has found a steep increase in anti-South Asian hate speech circulating online in the United States, with researchers pointing to social media posts that portray people from the region as threats or outsiders.
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate examined posts on X and found that the monthly volume of anti-South Asian hate content rose by 240 percent between January 2024 and June 2026. The number increased from 12,904 posts at the start of the period to 43,843 in June 2026.
More than half a million posts
The study counted over 542,000 posts classified as hateful between January 2025 and June 2026. Researchers said recurring messages framed South Asians as “invading,” taking jobs or threatening the country. Some posts grouped people of different ethnicities and religions under a single target, while the use of insults describing South Asians as “dirty” also increased.
Researchers linked the growth to several overlapping forces, including heated immigration debates, political rhetoric, economic anxiety and the visibility of South Asian communities in public life. They also warned that online harassment can move beyond the platform through doxxing and other forms of intimidation.
The figures measure posts identified by the study’s researchers; they do not represent the views of all users or prove that every post led to offline harm. Still, the report argues that the scale and repetition of dehumanizing language can contribute to a climate in which discrimination and threats become easier to normalize.
The findings add to broader concerns about how social platforms amplify hostility toward immigrant and minority communities during periods of political tension.
