Anti-South Asian hate has increased sharply across major and fringe online platforms in the United States, with more than 500,000 hateful posts identified on X between January 2025 and June 2026, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH).
The report, titled “The Rising Tide of Anti-South Asian Hate in the United States,” examines online hate targeting South Asian Americans, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other communities, across X, 4chan, 8chan and Gab.
CSOH identified approximately 542,360 anti-South Asian hate posts on X during the 18-month study period. Monthly volume increased 75% between January 2025 and June 2026, with June 2026 recording 1.75 times the number of posts recorded in January 2025.
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The organization also found 328,747 anti-South Asian posts on X in 2025, up 60% from 205,585 in 2024. Across 4chan, 8chan and Gab, researchers identified 397,522 hateful mentions during 2025.
According to the report, posts portraying South Asians as “invaders,” job thieves or a demographic threat accounted for 45% of anti-South Asian hate identified on X. Immigration and the H-1B visa program were among the major themes.
The report also found widespread use of racial slurs and dehumanizing language. The slur “pajeet” and its variants appeared in about 30% of the posts analyzed on X and 45% of mentions on the fringe platforms studied. CSOH said hygiene-based dehumanization was the fastest-growing category on X, increasing 171%.
Researchers identified six factors they say contributed to the rise: government policy and rhetoric, xenophobic nationalism, racial hostility, the growing political visibility of South Asians, economic resentment and digital amplification.
The report said anti-South Asian hostility increasingly crosses national, ethnic and religious lines, affecting Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other South Asian communities. It also noted attacks directed at Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, sometimes based on assumptions about a person’s ethnicity, religion or national origin.
CSOH cited several recent incidents of offline hostility alongside the online trends. These included the July 2026 stabbing of an Indian Muslim mall employee in Utah, which federal prosecutors charged as a hate crime, and the September 13 stabbing of a Sikh truck driver in Wyoming.
The report also examined the role of social media in amplifying anti-South Asian narratives. Researchers said some accounts have doxxed South Asians over allegations involving jobs or H-1B visas, while influencers have filmed confrontations with South Asians at workplaces and homes and circulated the videos online.
Generative artificial intelligence has added another dimension, according to CSOH. The report found that AI-generated images and videos are being used to create racist caricatures portraying South Asians as criminals, scammers, sexually predatory or a demographic threat.
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The organization acknowledged limitations, particularly on Gab and 8chan, where access restrictions meant researchers captured only a portion of the available material. More than 90% of the fringe-platform results came from 4chan.
The report said online and offline hostility can reinforce each other as narratives move between social media, political discourse and everyday life. It called the growing volume of anti-South Asian content a significant concern for communities across the United States.