The year 2025 marked a troubling inflection point for online hate directed at South Asians, particularly on Elon Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Racist abuse that once existed on the fringes of digital spaces increasingly entered the mainstream, often trending openly, gaining millions of views, and remaining largely unchecked. South Asians — encompassing Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Nepalis, and others — found themselves targeted for their skin colour, religion, migration status, professional success, and perceived cultural “otherness.”

This explainer unpacks how South Asians became prominent targets, why X proved especially conducive to such abuse, and what broader social and political dynamics enabled this phenomenon.

A platform transformed: X under Elon Musk

When Elon Musk acquired Twitter and rebranded it as X, he framed the takeover as a victory for “free speech absolutism.” However, the operational reality involved:

• Mass layoffs of trust and safety teams

• Relaxed enforcement of hate speech policies

• Algorithmic prioritisation of engagement over harm

• Restoration of previously banned extremist accounts

While Musk publicly opposed racism, his platform changes dramatically reduced friction for hateful content, allowing it to spread faster, wider, and with fewer consequences.

Why South Asians became a focal target

1. Visibility and success in Western societies

South Asians are among the most visible immigrant communities in the United States, the UK, and Canada. In the US, Indian Americans in particular are:

• Overrepresented in technology, medicine, and academia

• Increasingly visible in politics and corporate leadership

This visibility, combined with persistent racial hierarchies, made South Asians a convenient target for resentment framed as:

• “Job stealing”

• “H-1B visa abuse”

• “Corporate takeover”

Racist narratives portraying South Asians as undeserving elites or demographic threats gained traction on X.

2. Skin colour and racialised stereotypes

Despite being classified as “model minorities” in some contexts, South Asians remain racialised as non-white and non-Western. On X, this manifested through:

• Slurs targeting darker skin tones

• Monkey and vermin imagery

• Comparisons to dirt, filth, or disease

• Mockery of accents and names

The platform saw a surge in dehumanising memes that normalised abuse through humour, making racism more palatable and shareable.

Religion as a fault line

Islamophobia and Hinduphobia

South Asians of different religious backgrounds faced distinct but overlapping forms of hate:

• Muslims were targeted with terrorism-linked slurs, especially Pakistanis and Bangladeshis

• Hindus were caricatured as backward, casteist, or cult-like

• Sikhs were misidentified and abused as Muslims

Religious markers — names, attire, dietary practices — became triggers for harassment, often weaponised during geopolitical crises.

Immigration politics and election cycles

Migration as a culture-war issue

In the US, immigration remains a polarising political topic. South Asians became symbolic figures in debates around:

• Skilled migration

• Work visas

• “Replacement theory”

On X, right-wing influencers and anonymous accounts increasingly framed South Asian migrants as:

• Economic parasites

• Cultural invaders

• Demographic threats

This rhetoric intensified during election campaigning, when anti-immigrant messaging was algorithmically boosted.

Algorithmic amplification of hate

One of the most critical enablers of racist abuse was X’s algorithm.

Engagement-first logic

Posts that generated outrage, anger, or shock were:

• Promoted aggressively

• Recommended to wider audiences

• Monetised through ad revenue sharing

Hateful content targeting South Asians often went viral precisely because it provoked strong reactions — both supportive and critical.

Blue-check incentives

With X allowing monetisation for verified users:

• Hate influencers were financially rewarded

• Provocative racism became profitable

• Coordinated harassment campaigns intensified

This created a perverse incentive structure where racism was not just tolerated but rewarded.

Coded language and plausible deniability

Unlike overt slurs, much of the racism operated through:

• Dog whistles

• “Jokes” about curry, smell, or hygiene

• Statistical cherry-picking about crime or fertility

Such content often skirted policy violations, making moderation difficult while still reinforcing racial hierarchies.

Collapse of content moderation

From enforcement to indifference

Under Musk, X shifted from proactive moderation to:

• User-driven reporting

• Inconsistent enforcement

• Delayed responses

South Asian users frequently reported:

• Abusive posts remaining online

• Accounts facing no penalties

• Appeals being ignored

The perception grew that South Asians were less protected than other groups, undermining trust in the platform.

Psychological and social impact

Digital harm, real consequences

The constant exposure to racist abuse led to:

• Anxiety and depression

• Self-censorship

• Withdrawal from online spaces

For many South Asians, X transformed from a space of civic engagement into a hostile environment, discouraging participation in public discourse.

Normalisation of racism

Perhaps the most dangerous outcome was the normalisation of racial hate. When racist content trends without consequence, it:

• Shifts social norms

• Encourages offline harassment

• Validates extremist ideologies

History shows that digital dehumanisation often precedes real-world violence.

Why South Asians struggled to mobilise collectively

Unlike some other marginalised groups, South Asians:

• Are religiously and politically diverse

• Lack unified advocacy structures

• Often downplay racism to maintain “model minority” status

This fragmentation made collective resistance harder, allowing abuse to persist with limited pushback.

Global implications

The hate was not confined to the US. On X, racist narratives spread across:

• UK immigration debates

• Canadian housing crises

• Australian labour discussions

South Asians became a global scapegoat in an era of economic uncertainty and identity politics.

Elon Musk’s role and responsibility

While Musk has denied endorsing racism, his actions — including engaging with controversial accounts and amplifying culture-war narratives — created an environment where hate flourished.

Critics argue that:

• Platform design is not neutral

• Leadership choices shape discourse

• “Free speech” without safeguards benefits the powerful over the vulnerable

What can be done?

Platform-level reforms

• Restore robust trust and safety teams

• Demonetise hate-driven content

• Increase transparency in algorithmic decisions

Community responses

• Stronger South Asian digital advocacy

• Cross-racial solidarity

• Legal and regulatory pressure

Conclusion

The rise of racist hate against South Asians on Elon Musk’s X in 2025 was not accidental. It was the product of platform design choices, political polarisation, algorithmic incentives, and long-standing racial prejudices. By allowing engagement-driven amplification to override harm prevention, X became a fertile ground for racial abuse that targeted one of the world’s most visible diaspora communities.

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