74 per cent hate speech spike in 2024, India Hate Lab reports

A recent report by the India Hate Lab, a project of the Washington D.C.-based Center for the Study of Organised Hate, indicates a significant rise in hate speech incidents against minorities in India during 2024.

The report, published on 10 February, documented 1,165 instances of hate speech, marking a 74.4 per cent increase from the 668 incidents recorded in 2023.

The report also highlighted the role of social media platforms in amplifying hate speech, with 995 out of 1,165 events — over 85 per cent — being first shared or livestreamed on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Notably, as of 6 February 2025, only 3 of the reported videos have been removed by Facebook, leaving 98.4 per cent still accessible across various platforms despite clear violations of community standards, per the report.

Key findings from the report include:

• Most hate is anti-Muslim hate: Approximately 98.5 per cent of the hate speech events targeted Muslims, either separately or alongside Christians. Specifically, 1,050 incidents were directed solely at Muslims, while 97 targeted both Muslims and Christians.

  Additionally, 115 events (9.9 per cent) targeted Christians, either specifically (18) or in combination with Muslims (97).

• BJP-ruled states hate most: Around 80 per cent of these incidents occurred in states governed by the BJP or its allies. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh were identified as having the highest number of hate speech events, collectively accounting for nearly half of the total incidents.

• Are elections won on a hateful plank? The report notes a significant spike in hate speech during the 2024 general election campaigning period, with 32 per cent of all incidents occurring between 16 March and 1 June 2024, coinciding with the election period.

• Saffron hate is political, organised hate: The BJP was identified as the most frequent organiser of hate speech events in 2024, accounting for 29.2 per cent of such incidents. This represents a 580 per cent increase from 2023, where only 50 such events pointed decisively to the party, per the India Hate Lab.

• Small step from hate speech to incitement: Approximately 22.2 per cent of the events featured ‘dangerous speech’, including explicit calls for violence. Of these, 224 incidents occurred in states governed by the BJP or its allies.

  The data certainly suggests a strong correlation between political environments and hate speech activity, with communal rhetoric escalating before polls, both local and state as well as national.

• Leaders who lead the hate: Of the top 10 individuals leading the hate brigade, apparently six are politicians. This includes Yogi Adityanath (the Uttar Pradesh chief minister was responsible for 86 incidents, 7.4 per cent of the total) and prime minister Narendra Modi (67 instances, or 5.7 per cent of the total).

As of now, there has been no official response from the BJP regarding the India Hate Lab's report on the increase in hate speech incidents against minorities in 2024 — or its culpability in leading the tirade.

The BBC reported that it has reached out to several BJP spokespersons for comments on the findings, but no statements have been issued.

In the past, the BJP has denied allegations of discrimination against minorities, asserting that their policies are inclusive and benefit all citizens.

However, rights groups have long criticised certain government actions, such as the 2019 citizenship law and the revocation of Kashmir's special status, viewing them as discriminatory towards minorities — not to mention the recent trend of laws restricting religious conversion (or rights accessible after conversion) as well as the recent uniform civil code in a couple of states that cherry-picks who is brought into conformity with a common code and who is not.

Given the lack of a response to the report from either the government or the tarred-and-feathered BJP, plans to address hate speech and allied incidents in the country can be expected to remain MIA.