Immigration-focused narratives, especially those related to H-1B visas and portraying Indians as “job stealers” dominated online discourse on X, amplifying xenophobia and fueling calls for deportation and denaturalization, according to a new report.
The report, Anti-Indian Racism on X: Causes, Trends, and Narratives, released by The Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) today documents a surge in anti-Indian racism on the American microblogging platform between July and September 2025.
The 680 high-engagement posts analyzed for this report amassed more than 281 million views, underscoring the scale of online racism targeting Indian communities, according to CSOH.
Notably, August saw nearly a fivefold spike in anti-Indian hate compared to July, coinciding with the onset of U.S.-India tariff tensions.
The analysis reveals that immigration- and expulsion-themed rhetoric accounted for nearly 70% of the dataset, with resentment about Indians holding H-1B visas and STEM jobs serving as key drivers.
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Incident-driven narratives also played a major role, with the Aug. 12, 2025 truck crash in Florida that involved a Sikh driver generating a wave of online abuse against the Sikh and Indian communities. Peaks in anti-Indian racist content coincided with broader political tensions, including the U.S.–India tariff dispute.
“Anti-Indian racism online is part of a larger ecosystem of far-right hate, xenophobia, and disinformation that thrives on social media platforms,” said Rohit Chopra, co-author of the report and professor at Santa Clara University.
“These narratives have real-world consequences: They embolden violent extremist groups, and heighten the risk of physical harm to the target communities. X and other social media platforms have both the responsibility and the tools to intervene, yet they have repeatedly fallen short,” said CSOH executive director Raqib Hameed Naik.
The report concludes with seven recommendations for X and other platforms, including better recognition of racial slurs, stronger enforcement mechanisms, proactive use of transparency tools, and support for counterspeech initiatives.
Key findings:
680 high engagement anti-Indian racist posts on X garnered 281.2 million views between July 1 and September 7, 2025.
Narratives framing Indians as “invaders” and “job thieves,” alongside calls to deport Indians, accounted for 474 posts (69.7%) and 111.8 million views, making immigration and expulsion themed rhetoric the primary driver of engagement.
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H-1B resentment and job theft frames were prominent within the leading cluster, blending xenophobia with economic insecurity and amplifying calls for visa bans, denials, deportation and denaturalization of Indians.
121 posts (17.8%) used anti-Indian slurs and drew 74.3 million views.
74 posts (10.9%) tied to the Aug. 12 Florida truck crash involving a Sikh driver amassed 94.9 million views, illustrating how single events are weaponized to stigmatize entire communities through occupational scapegoating.
Activity peaked in August 2025 with 381 posts and 189.9 million views. The U.S.-India tariff dispute and incident-based outrage coincided with narrative spikes, indicating that policy tensions and breaking news act as predictable accelerants of racist content.
Around 65% of posts were U.S. centered, confirming the U.S. as the epicenter of anti-Indian digital racism during the study period.