Despite ongoing efforts to combat anti-Asian racism that arose after the pandemic, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have experienced online abuse based on their race or ethnicity since November's election. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) AP
A newly released report by a national nonprofit found a significant increase in anti-Asian hate speech and threats of violence after President Donald Trump’s election in November.
Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based coalition that fights racism and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, released its report on Thursday, revealing an uptick in anti-Asian slurs and violent threats made online.
The coalition uncovered the surge in hate speech and violent threats through monitoring online platforms like X, Reddit, and 4chan, the report said.
“Following Trump’s 2024 election win, there has been a significant swell in online hate against Asians in the U.S., including both threats of violence and slurs. Violent threats increased by a staggering 59% from November to December 2024,” Stop AAPI Hate’s the report said.
The use of online anti-Asian slurs jumped 66% after the November election, the report said. In January, the coalition documented the use of 87,945 Anti-Asian slurs — the highest number since the coalition began tracking in August 2022, the report said.
Hateful words and threats of violence most commonly targeted the South Asian community, including people of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, and Sri Lankan descent. In December and January, 73% of the slurs and 75% of the threats were directed at South Asians, the report said.
Online posters did not use hate speech toward the East Asian community as frequently, the report found. However, the coalition reported a 50% rise between November and January in slurs and violent threats toward members of the South Korean, Chinese and Japanese communities.
According to the report, the rise in anti-South Asian hate stems from anger among Trump supporters over H-1B visas, which allow employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in specialty occupations that require at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent.
Indian people are the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa program, which Trump and some of his advisors openly supported in December, NBC News reported.
But, according to Stop AAPI Hate’s report, that support ignited criticism online among Domestic Violent Extremists (DVE), resulting in anti-Indian threats directed at entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan, an Indian American Trump appointed senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence in December, Vice President JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Indian immigrants were accused of “stealing jobs,” particularly in white-collar occupations, and, therefore, threatening “white livelihood,” the report said.
The rise in Anti-Asian hate speech and violent threats comes as Trump has escalated efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants nationwide and signed executive orders to dismantle policies and programs to help immigrants and refugees, according to the National Immigrant Justice Center.
Stories by Vashti Harris
Mosaic staff writer Vashti Harris can be reached at vharris@njadvancemedia.com.
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