Online hate against South Asian-Americans is set to rise steadily in 2023 and 2024 as politicians from that community rise to prominence, according to a report released Wednesday by the nonprofit group Stop AAPI Hate.
Why is this important?
Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris is of Indian origin, as are former Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. Usha Vance, wife of Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, is also Indian American.
Harris will face Republican former President Donald Trump in the 2024 US elections.
The report says there has been a steady increase in anti-Asian hate in extremist online spaces from January 2023 to August 2024.
The nonprofit group attributed the increase to a “toxic political environment in which leaders and a growing number of far-right extremist voices continue to spread radical political rhetoric and disinformation.”
key quote
Stop AAPI Hate said, “Online threats of violence towards Asian communities reached their highest level in August 2024 following Usha Vance’s appearance at the Republican National Convention and Kamala Harris being announced as the presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention “
It says, “The increasing prevalence of anti-South Asian online hate in 2023 and 2024 tracks with the increase in South Asian political representation this election cycle.”
by numbers
According to the report, among Asian American subgroups, South Asian communities were targeted with the highest amount of anti-Asian online hostility, with 60% of abuse directed at them in that period.
Anti-South Asian abuse on extremist online spaces doubled last year, from about 23,000 to more than 46,000, and peaked in August 2024.
There are approximately 5.4 million people of South Asian descent living in the United States, including people with ancestry from countries such as India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)