Anti-Asian online hate in the U.S. in extremist online spaces has seen an “alarming surge” since the 2024 U.S. elections won by Donald Trump, data released Thursday by nonprofit group Stop AAPI Hate showed.
January 2025 marked the highest number of online anti-Asian slurs by month since monitoring began in August 2022, Stop AAPI Hate said, with a total of almost 88,000 slurs. The group examined forums such as Reddit, X and 4chan.
The surge was mostly driven by anti South Asian slurs, which increased by 75% in January, versus November.
Some online rhetoric centered around Indians “stealing jobs” and threatening “white livelihood,” the nonprofit group said.
Similarly, threats of violence against Asians online rose by over 50% in both December and January, compared to November, the data showed.
Anti-East Asian slurs increased amid perceived threats from China, the report said.
At the end of last year, an intense debate played out over social media among MAGA loyalists after some of President Donald Trump’s advisers expressed support of legal, high-skill immigration.
Some on the far right criticized Sriram Krishnan, whom Trump appointed to an artificial intelligence advisory role, for past statements in support of green cards for skilled workers. Racist attacks ensued.
“There were violent anti-Indian threats aimed at [Vivek] Ramaswamy, J.D. and Usha Vance, and Sriram Krishnan,” the report said.
Amid the feud, Trump said he supported H-1B visas. In the past, he’s made comments about the program, saying, “We shouldn’t have it. Very, very bad for workers.”
Indians account for the bulk of H-1B U.S. visas.
Online hate against Americans of Asian, especially South Asian, ancestry had risen steadily in 2023 and 2024 with the rise to prominence of politicians from that community, Stop AAPI Hate said in the build-up to the November elections.
