Over 55% Online Islamophobic Content Originates From India: Report

According to a recent study tapping into online Islamophobic content, we have come to know that Twitter users in India contribute to 55.12% of anti-Muslim content on the microblogging site.

India Is One Of The Main Sources Of Online Islamophobic Content

Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) is the apex Muslim body in the Australian state of Victoria and it represents an estimated 270,000 community members. ICV has found “a strong correlation between spikes in hate and newsworthy events related to Islam, particularly protests, terrorist attacks and eruptions of conflict in the Muslim world”.

The study also revealed that the response of politicians to current events related to Islam can have a considerable impact on the prevalence of Islamophobia. In addition to that, a large spike in Islamophobic tweets was observed on February 25, 2020, which links with hateful remarks made by leaders of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against Muslim protesters of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The major factor contributing to the rise in hateful content online in India was particularly associated with the ruling party, as most people know how the BJP has actively normalized hatred towards Muslims. In the same way, Islamophobia has long been a problem in the US as well. According to the study, it was dramatically exacerbated by the racist, conspiratorial and inflammatory rhetoric employed by Donald Trump. The study also reported that:

“Trump ranked as the third most frequently mentioned user in Islamophobic posts, a great many of which were focused on defending his ban on Muslim immigration, in addition to forwarding his theory that the Democrats were collaborating with ‘the Islamists’ to take over the West.”

The anti-Muslim remarks made by other leaders such as former British prime minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron were also considered to be associated with spikes in hateful content online. As far as Islamophobia and terrorism are concerned, the study also revealed that attacks in the West were more likely to lead to anti-Muslim hate than those committed elsewhere.

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