Hateful rhetoric against people of Indian origin was amplified on X during the Christmas holidays, researchers said, when far-right activists lined up against Elon Musk and other supporters of President-elect Donald Trump over skilled worker immigration, our colleague Pranshu Verma reports for the Tech Brief.
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate, a nonpartisan think tank, said its findings released Thursday highlighted the platform’s role in attracting and spreading anti-minority hate speech.
The researchers analyzed 128 posts on the Musk-owned X that emerged between Dec. 22 and Jan. 3 that used false and hateful rhetoric against people of Indian origin. Altogether they received more than 138.5 million views.
The theme that got the most traction in the study sample, according to the report’s analysis, was that Indians posed a threat to “civilized” white America and Canada. The second-most viewed posts contained “general” hateful rhetoric, followed by posts that categorized Indians as “inferior.”
The X posts came from 85 accounts, 64 of which subscribed to the platform’s premium feature that gives users a blue verified badge, the report found. All posts were in violation of X’s policies on hateful conduct, the report said. One of the 85 accounts was suspended, and 125 of the 128 posts analyzed remained active as of Jan. 3.
“X has become a free-for-all cesspit of hatred that disproportionately harms minorities,” the report said. “Though X is a global platform, its use in particular national contexts suggests that it is especially effective as a weapon for anti-minority hatred.”
X didn’t respond to a request for comment.