Australia Must Combat Online South Asian Hate

2 days ago
4 min read

By Afeeya Akhand

As Australia currently undertakes a Royal Commission into Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion, the time is ripe to ensure that online hate against diaspora communities including South Asian Australians is actively combatted. The size of groups including South Asian Australians will only continue to grow, making it essential to actively foster respect for multiculturalism in online spaces including social media.

Today, more than one million or around 3.7% of Australians were born in South Asia, with India, Nepal and Sri Lanka respectively ranked among the top ten countries of birth for Australians in 2024. In particular, the Indian-born population in Australia has more than doubled since 2013 and represents the country’s second largest migrant community after migrants from the United Kingdom (UK). When factoring in the number of second and third-generation migrants with ancestry from South Asian countries, the size of the South Asian diaspora goes far beyond one million Australians.

The growth in the South Asian Australian population has contributed significantly to the country’s racial, religious and linguistic diversity in the past few decades. According to the 2021 Australian Census, Punjabi, a language spoken in parts of India and Pakistan, is the fifth most spoken language at home. In addition, Nepali featured in the top five languages used at home in both the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. While Christianity still remains the most common religious affiliation in Australia (43.9%), other religions that have a significant number of followers from South Asian communities including Islam (3.2%), Hinduism (2.7%) and Buddhism (2.4%) continue to grow in popularity. These three religions are in fact ranked the second, third and fourth most practised religions in the country, respectively.

Despite the longstanding social, economic and cultural contributions of migrant communities, including South Asians, to Australian society over the past decades and even centuries, diaspora groups continue to be alienated and scapegoated in times of crisis and strife. In recent years, cost-of-living pressures and renewed debates over immigration levels, have heightened tensions and racism.

Political rhetoric has played a troubling role in contributing to this trend of discrimination including against South Asian Australians. Last year, Senator Jacinta Price falsely claimed that large numbers of Indian migrants were being allowed into Australia to increase votes for the Labor Party. Following the Bondi terror attacks and with the government’s planned review into migration laws, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie argued that migrants must “sign up to Australian values,” which he incorrectly described as “fundamentally Judeo-Christian”. Such political messaging sends a clear message: assimilate or leave.

This rhetoric has translated to real-world consequences by resulting in physical violence. In September last year, an Indian student in Adelaide was seriously assaulted and was told to “F-off, Indian”. Vandalism has also become a key concern. Last year in Melbourne, a Hindu temple and nearby Indian restaurants were defaced.

Anti-South Asian sentiment has also been linked to growing Islamophobic violence in Australia since 9/11. Due to inadequate religious and racial literacy, some Australians conflate skin colour and specific types of cultural garb with Islam, as seen through attacks against some Sikh-Australians since 9/11.

Arguably, patterns of violence and hate speech are not confined to the actions of a few misguided individuals or groups. Racism against South Asian groups represents a broader climate of hostility, amplified by artificial intelligence (AI) and social media platforms playing a critical role in its global spread. One example was a coordinated hate campaign using AI-generated content to mock Indian-Australians through the depiction of a “future Australia”. One AI clip consisted of a future Prime Minister speaking with an exaggerated, stereotypical Indian accent and another depicted Sydney’s roads altered to mimic Indian roads filled with rickshaws and piles of rubbish.

International events have also been hijacked to perpetuate hate. Following the Air India crash in June last year, which claimed over 270 lives, social media platforms were flooded with racist commentary including through making fun of passengers as Uber drivers and 7-Eleven owners. A similar trend of online hate surged with the last year’s election of New York City’s first South Asian and Muslim mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Social media hate has even been linked to surges in offline violence. In the aftermath of the Southport attacks in the UK, racist violence against Muslim and migrant communities erupted. The social media platform, X, played a central role in enabling this violence through the spread of false narratives and harmful content about the identity of the attacker.

The issue of online hate against groups including South Asian Australians will not dissipate by itself. The government must do more to actively combat this trend, with the launch of the National Hate Crimes and Incidents database being one important first step. To go beyond the collation of data about patterns of racism, more robust action must be taken in the online domain to address the actors, network and technologies that enable hate speech and call for violence to spread.

For one, the eSafey Commissioner must strengthen social media regulations by ensuring that digital platforms including X, Facebook and Instagram adhere to clear, legally defined standards that combat hate speech. This could include constraints on algorithms that amplify racist content and foster echo chambers.

Digital policy responses must also prioritise the wellbeing of targeted communities through reducing mental and psychological harm. According to the 2024 research by the eSafety Commissioner, 58% of people who experienced online hate suffered negative impacts, including mental or emotional stress, relationship breakdowns and reputational harm. Social media platforms, therefore, have a duty of care to consumers and should provide referral pathways to crisis and mental health support services for individuals affected by online racism.

Hate directed against diaspora communities, including South Asian Australians, will continue to endure in the absence of deliberate policy interventions. Through this Royal Commission and beyond, clear signalling from the Federal government is essential for building a more cohesive, inclusive and united Australia.

Afeeya Akhand is an emerging associate at the ANU National Security College.