Last month, FBI Director Kash Patel wished his followers on X a happy Diwali. It did not go over well.
Far-right Christian nationalist and white nationalist accounts flooded his post with bigoted memes and rhetoric. “Go back home and worship your sand demons,” a far-right pastor wrote. “Get the f**k out of my country,” read another reply. Said another, “This is America. We don’t do this.” These responses, some of which were seen millions of times, were on the tamer end of the spectrum.
Indian immigrants and Indian Americans — or anyone perceived as Indian — are the latest target of a growing anti-migrant movement in the US and around the world. Over the past year, researchers at the Center for the Study of Organized Hate have documented a surge of anti-Indian sentiment on X that is showing no signs of abating. Raqib Naik, the center’s founder and executive director, said that his team recorded nearly 2,700 posts promoting racism and xenophobia against Indians and Indian Americans in October alone. At least some of that might be explained by Elon Musk’s transformation of the platform: Since he took over, racist content that would previously have been policed by content moderators is now amplified and encouraged. (X did not respond to a request for comment.)