Steep rise in hate toward South Asians in Canada documented through social media posts

Disturbing:

Canada has seen a steep rise in hate toward South Asians on social media in recent years, with a large spike occurring during the recent federal election — especially aimed at former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, according to a new report.

The report, titled “The Rise of Anti-South Asian Hate in Canada” and published by the U.K.-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue, used the social media monitoring tool Brandwatch to analyze posts that mention Canadian cities and regions and South Asians on X.

Between May and December 2023, they found 1,163 posts containing explicitly hateful keywords toward South Asians. During the same period in 2024, that number rose to 16,884 — an increase of more than 1,350 per cent.

A new report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue finds a huge increase in racist posts in 2024, notably in the lead-up to the federal election.

Canada has seen a steep rise in hate toward South Asians on social media in recent years, with a large spike occurring during the recent federal election — especially aimed at former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, according to a new report.

The report, titled “The Rise of Anti-South Asian Hate in Canada” and published by the U.K.-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue, used the social media monitoring tool Brandwatch to analyze posts that mention Canadian cities and regions and South Asians on X.

Between May and December 2023, they found 1,163 posts containing explicitly hateful keywords toward South Asians. During the same period in 2024, that number rose to 16,884 — an increase of more than 1,350 per cent.

The report says Canada has been singled out as a cautionary tale — in the eyes of far-right influencers and extremists globally — of how immigration policies can lead to an “invasion” of South Asian migrants.

Steven Rai, an analyst at ISD who focuses on domestic extremism, pointed to the American-based X account EndWokeness, which has 3.7 million followers, as one that has made numerous posts about South Asians in Canada “overtaking society.”

“Canada is held up by a lot of racists as the example of what happens to a country when it’s supposedly overrun with South Asians,” Rai said.

“Domestic extremists within Canada are promoting that stereotype and that gets picked up by people all around the world.”

The ISD notes that hate isn’t confined to the online sphere. Between 2019 and 2023, police-reported hate crimes against South Asians in Canada increased by more than 200 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

The ISD defines domestic extremism as a belief system grounded in racial or cultural supremacy, as well as misogyny, based on a perceived threat from out-groups, which can be pursued through violent or non-violent means….

Source: Steep rise in hate toward South Asians in Canada documented through social media posts