‘Hinduphobia is on the rise on social media and other messaging platforms’: Rutgers report

With the help of artificial intelligence, the Rutgers researchers were able to analyze over 1 million tweets and found that Iranian trolls were in action on several occasions to spread anti-Hindu propaganda. These actors accused Hindus of perpetrating genocide against minorities in India. Interestingly, similar propaganda against the Hindu community of India is being spread in western countries.

According to the Rutgers researchers, there is an alarming rise in anti-Hindu slurs and slogans. They also noticed an increase in the proliferation of anti-Hindu genocidal memes in memes in Islamist, white nationalist, and other extremist sub-networks online. It is noteworthy that, in general, such posts are seen as anti-Indian, but the researchers pointed out that the “specific content of these memes, hashtags and derogatory messages very clearly targets decidedly Hindu symbols, practices, and livelihoods.”

https://twitter.com/_/status/1547025361438969856

https://twitter.com/_/status/1547025364765081601

Non-state actors like ISIS-K are also involved in such propaganda.

The data extracted from different sources ranged from 2019 to 2022. They found that the anti-Hindu disinformation is often masked through the use of ethnic pejoratives, slurs, and coded language such as the word ‘pajeet.’ It was first seen on 4Chan. It is an “ethnic slur, coined as a derisive imitation of Indian names. Typically, pajeet is used to describe Indians on the Internet and, by default, Hindus,” the paper suggested.

It is notable that the word has found its way into extremists’ manifestos as well. The paper reads, “The white supremacist shooter of the Chabad Synagogue in San Diego, 2019, had referenced “pajeets” in this manifesto. This slur has also been used by white supremacists in white nationalist podcasts in reference to violent, murderous fantasies about Indians.” Interestingly, the slang was used extensively when Parag was appointed as CEO of Twitter in late November 2021.

The researcher found that users commenting about “Pajeets,” “Hindus,” and “India” on 4Chan self-reported their locations in the US, India, Canada, UK, and Australia, with the overwhelming majority being located in the US.

The Rutgers paper on Hinduphobia on social media and messaging platforms can be read here.

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