Social media and streaming platforms such as YouTube, Meta, Apple Music and Spotify host and profit from Hindutva “hate music” that dehumanises Muslims and Christians, and incites violence against them, according to a study by a Washington DC-based non-profit think tank released on Monday.
The Center for the Study of Organized Hate, identified 523 Hindutva hate songs on the four platforms that violated content policies. Of these, 210 songs were on YouTube, 109 on Spotify, 103 on the Meta music library and 101 on Apple Music.
More than 50% of the 523 songs directly threatened or incited violence against religious minorities, while the rest promoted or incited hatred through slurs and dehumanisation, the study said.
When 225 songs were reported to the four platforms in October for content policy violations, only 18 had been removed by May, a takedown rate of 8%, it added.