86 Percent Of Anti-Muslim Content On Twitter Comes From US, UK, India: Study

The United Nations has also expressed concerns that the anti-Muslim hatred has reached "epidemic proportions".

A recent study found that UK, US, and India generate 86 percent of anti-Muslim tweets.

(Photo: iStock)

In 2021, the United Nations strongly urged the global community to "take all necessary measures" to fight discrimination against Muslims. They have asked the community to "prohibit any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to violence".

The UN also expressed concern that the anti-Muslim hatred has reached "epidemic proportions".

However, social media companies have not removed anti-Muslim content from the platforms yet.

This has led to a devastating effect on Muslim minority communities across the globe as Twitter becomes a primary source for the proliferation and amplification of anti-Muslim hatred, according to a report by TRT World.

The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) researchers analysed the anti-Muslim content produced by the three highest anti-Muslim content producing countries: US, UK, and India, and identified key themes such as association of Islam with terrorism, depiction of Muslims as perpetrators of sexual violence, the conspiracy that makes false claims that Muslim immigrants are replacing white in the West and Hindus in India, and the characterisation of halal as an inhumane practice that stereotypes the so-called "barbarity" of Islam.

"Even more concerning, however, is our discovery that only a mere 14.83 percent of anti-Muslim tweets end up being removed."

Researchers of Anti-Muslim Hate on Twitter in UK, US, and India

According to the study by the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV)--the apex Muslim body in the Australian state of Victoria that shows representation of about 270,000 community members--found that about four million anti-Muslim posts were made during a 24 month duration from 2017 to 2019.

India's Twitter Users

Researchers blame India's ruling party--Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)--for fostering anti-Muslim hate.

"The BJP has actively normalised hatred towards Muslims such that 55.12 percent of anti-Muslim hatred tweets now originate in India," researchers said.

ICV also attributed to discriminatory laws denying Muslims citizenships for the rise of anti-Muslim hatred among Indian Twitter accounts.

US Twitter Users

The rise of anti-Muslim hate on Twitter went hand-in-hand with former President Donald Trump's rhetoric of hate and policies. The former US president is one of the third most frequently mentioned user in anti-Muslim posts with many tweets that are connected to defending his Muslim immigration ban and anti-Muslim conspiracy theories.

UK's Twitter Users

The prevalence of anti-Muslim tweets in the United Kingdom has been attributed to several factors spanning from Trump's anti-Muslim animus to anti-immigration sentiments sparked by the refugee crisis, the discussion around Brexit, in addition to racism from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who once compared niqab-wearing Muslim women to "letter boxes", according to a report by TRT World.

The research concludes that there is direct correlation between online hate and offline hate crimes and thus, social media companies such as Twitter must act in good conscious to stop anti-Muslim hate Tweets.