Surge in social media hate a growing concern for Long Island's South Asians

Stony Brook University student Rabia Chattha decided to download the social media platform X recently and she was shocked by what she saw.

"I scrolled on it for maybe five minutes, and I was like, this is the most outrageous platform ever," said Chattha, 18, of St. James, describing incendiary posts about immigrants. "That type of stuff is hurtful because I saw my parents work hard to get to where they are."

She deleted the app after just a few minutes of scrolling.

Her experience was not unique. A new report by the nonprofit Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) that analyzed four social media platforms shows a significant spike in online hate directed toward South Asians.

And it’s not just coming from random social media posters.

Bo French, a candidate for Texas Railroad commissioner, sparked national headlines in September with a post about a crowd of South Asian students at a University of Texas football game.

"I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined," French wrote on X. His post was widely condemned, including by a number of Republicans, who called it racist. He could not be reached for comment.  

Within a week, the Department of Education put up a post on X saying "MAKE COLLEGE FOOTBALL GREAT AGAIN" against a backdrop of UT's football field.

The CSOH report called the government's post "a clear endorsement" of what French had shared.

But a statement from Education Department spokesperson Lori Massengill said: "This post is part of an ongoing social media series meant to bring attention to the rich tradition of college sports and the importance of Congress passing the Protect College Sports Act. The featured image is a stadium full of fans who are cheering on their favorite team. Trying to twist a straightforward celebration of college sports is absurd and misleading."

X is one of four platforms the CSOH analyzed. The report, published in late September, found that South Asian hate posts have increased by 240% since January 2024. CSOH identified over half a million anti-South Asian posts on X between January 2025 and June 2026, representing a monthly growth of 75%.

Representatives for X did not respond to a request for comment.

What drives online hate

The report said the online hate is driven by several factors, among them the resurgence of xenophobic nationalism under the Trump administration, the increased visibility of South Asians in political life and the prevalence of the Great Replacement Theory, which claims white populations are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigrants.

“Prominent far-right influencers have made targeting South Asians from their online bully pulpits a core part of their ideological projects," the report said. "As a result of their large follower counts and ready audiences, these influencers shape the political climate, contribute to cultural shifts, and set the agenda for broader political conversations."

South Asian Long Islanders told Newsday they had become used to witnessing stereotypes and spotting misinformation about their community online. But now, they said, it feels dangerous.

Incendiary language shared by politicians and government agencies on social media platforms, along with doxing, which is when users post someone's personal information such as their photographs, names, employers and educational history without their consent, has some South Asians fearing for their safety.

"You can have a conversation while being offended and it's totally OK. ... Everyone has the right to freely express themselves. But when that crosses the threshold of imminent harm, that is where we need to draw the line," said Raqib Naik, CSOH founder and executive director.

Hateful comments and real-life violence

On Sept. 9, the Department of Homeland Security posted an AI generated image of a robot facing "Mr. Singh," with slogans such as "Self-deport or find out" and "get off our roads." The X post has been deleted.

The report points to this as an example of a government agency exacerbating an already incendiary conversation sparked by an event that took place a year before.

In August 2025, Sikh truck driver Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike that killed three people. Online conversations surrounding his immigration status and work authorization became widespread.

In an email, a DHS spokesman said: "What nonsensical drivel. ... Harjinder Singh is an illegal alien from India who should never have been in our country. ... He had been granted a CDL by California. Freedom from illegal alien crime is the right of all Americans." The department also shared a link to an additional X post on the matter.

Four days after the government's post, a Sikh truck driver said he was followed at a Wyoming rest stop and stabbed 17 times after leaving the restroom. Court documents did not specify a motive, NPR reported.

Sahib Sohal, of Jericho, said the use of the name Singh, a common Sikh surname, and the head covering in the DHS post make it clear it was referencing Sikhs.

"It's not an innocuous post that a government agency can make. Sikh immigrant truck drivers saw that post, and they had a reaction to it. Some told me that they were afraid of continuing to drive on the roads because they felt like they might meet somebody that felt aggrieved or felt a particular way about the post," said Sohal, a Sikh immigrant justice fellow at the New York City-based Sikh Coalition, which also serves Long Island.

He said it has even shifted the way some practice their faith, including by removing their turbans and trimming their beards to appear less Sikh for truck driving shifts.

Farmingdale State College student Raasleen Singh, of Floral Park, said it hurts to see her community targeted.

“[Anti-Sikh hate] is already a problem that's so wide in this world, and I feel like coming from [DHS], it just makes the situation so much worse because it makes it more normalized. It makes people think it's OK to target people," said Singh, who is worried that Sikhs could be attacked because of these narratives.

The report said there's a thin line between hateful online comments and people acting out.

"Repeated dehumanization, racial stereotyping, conspiracy theories, and calls for exclusion or removal can contribute to an environment in which hostility toward a community becomes increasingly normalized and can create conditions associated with ... violence,” the report said.

The nonprofit also analyzed three of what researchers described as fringe right-wing platforms over the same period, finding nearly 400,000 hateful mentions in 2025 on anonymous image boards 4chan and 8kun (formerly 8chan) and a social media site called Gab.

Proud to be Americans

According to the report, the posts included unsupported claims about stolen American jobs, wage suppression and visa fraud. Similarly, the report said 45% of anti-South Asian hate on X portrayed South Asians as job thieves, invaders and a demographic threat.

The report says users on X have even gone as far as to dox South Asians they assume to be holders of student and H-1B visas, or non-immigrant workers in specialized fields. The posts allege visa fraud and call on users to notify immigration authorities.

"That is the worst thing I've ever heard of ... it’s just an inhumane thing to do," Chatta said, adding that she fears for other international students and her parents.

Sabitra Siwakoti, president of the Long Island Nepalese Society, was shocked to hear of the doxing. It raises huge concerns for her community, many of whom are waiting on temporary protected status or are H-1B visa holders, she said.

"There are many people of different statuses here, so they all are impacted [by] that ... our kids who are going to school, they all were born here and they still get [discriminated against]. It's even more dangerous for immigrants," Siwakoti said.

For some South Asians, the online hate motivates them to celebrate their culture.

When Chattha's dad first emigrated from Pakistan, he lived in a basement. As his path to citizenship stretched beyond 20 years, Chattha watched her dad become an engineer and settle the family into a nice home on Long Island.

"I am from Pakistan, ethnically, but I still am American. I’m proud," Chatta said. “[The online hate] kind of just pushes me to work harder."

Zeshan Hamid, who lives in Hicksville and owns a restaurant there, posted a photo on his Facebook from a fundraiser held by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx/Queens) and Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in New York City on Oct. 5. But within hours, hundreds of comments were posted calling El-Sayed, who is Muslim and Egyptian American, a terrorist.

In response to a user who asked whether any Americans were at the fundraiser, Hamid replied that he was American himself, born and raised in New York. "Nobody has the right to tell me that I'm not an American," he said.

Hamid noted that most Americans were once immigrants, but his complexion and faith have long led people to view him as an outsider. He said he responds to these types of comments in an effort to shift that narrative.

"It feels that people just don't know who we are," said Hamid, who is chairman of the New York South Asian Chamber of Commerce. "I've learned a long time ago that people begin to hate because they have a fear of the unknown."