By Staff
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Anti-Asian hate has surged online since President Donald Trump won the election, a new, post-election analysis by anti-racism and anti-discrimination coalition Stop AAPI Hate reveals.
The analysis, released this month, shows that while there has been an overall gradual increase in hate speech against Asian communities since 2023, there was a dramatic spike in anti-Asian rhetoric after November 2024, right after Trump won the election. The analysis focused its monitoring on what are termed Domestic Violent Extremist spaces.
The analysis showed that the highest observed levels of hate speech occurred in January 2025, the same month as Trump’s inauguration. The analysis said that the level of hate speech against Asians is the highest the coalition has seen since monitoring began in 2022.
South Asian communities, in particular, have been targeted. The analysis noted a 75% increase in online hate speech against South Asian communities since November 2024. Hate speech against East Asians is on the rise, too. The analysis said that there has been a 54% increase since November 2024. The hate speech includes slurs and threats of violence.
Anti-immigrant sentiment is a major driving factor, the report said, with many of Trump’s supporters opposing H-1B visas, which allow skilled immigrants to work in the United States. Trump’s supporters accused Indian immigrants of “stealing jobs.” While the accusations were broad, and encompassed every sector, including Uber drivers, call center workers, and fast food workers, Trump supporters particularly focused on the tech— or skilled “white collar”— sector, and accused Indian immigrants in the tech sector of allegedly threatening “white livelihood.”
Such anti-Indian hate speech spiked, after Trump commented favorably on H-1B visas.
The analysis also said that the coalition observed an increase in hate speech against China and Chinese companies, following the release of videos that allegedly show a new kind of Chinese military aircraft, the news of the U.S.’s TikTok suspension, and news regarding DeepSeek, a competitive new Chinese artificial intelligence model that develops large language models.
Another racist trope the coalition observed was the increase in false accusations that people of Chinese descent in the U.S., including legislators, are spies for the Chinese government.
The analysis also included several direct quotes from Asians who have reported to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, reporting their experiences of targeted anti-Asian hate speech. In each case, Trump’s words and policies played a factor.