Rise of Anti-Immigrant sentiment on Reddit and Social Media

[u/ExternalWeek2040]

Second-Gen South-Asian from the UK here.

I’ve have been noticing a huge increase in anti-immigrant sentiment on social media platforms such as Instagram and X/Twitter, where the comments on any post regarding immigrants and South Asians are overtly xenophobic.

Those platforms have a reputation of being extremely racist and right wing but what surprised me the most is that some of these views have spread on to Reddit.

Reddit has a reputation of being a left leaning and progressive social media platform. However whenever I go to my country’s subreddit r-unitedkingdom or any other Western one such as r-canada and r-europe , any post about immigration or immigrants (especially from the subcontinent) has an overtly negative rhetoric such as immigrants are “running cities”, “stealing jobs”, “increasing home prices” and contributing to “cultural erosion”.

Any time I try to call this out, I always get mass downvoted and get told that “being concerned about immigration is not racist”, even though most of the anti-immigrant comments that get upvoted are basically indistinguishable from far-right talking points.

I’m pretty depressed about all the immigrant and South Asian hate I see on social media, there are barely any safe spaces anymore where being an immigrant isn’t seen as a bad thing.

I know this isn’t necessarily a new issue, but it feels like it’s become more normalised in recent months. Have you guys noticed this trend and how do you deal with it all emotionally?

[u/Irr3sponsibl3]

Not entirely on-topic, but I remember a conversation with a wealthy Indian coworker I had. He talked about the different reactions he got from middle class white liberal types in the street vs in his wealthy neighborhood where he was their neighbor, driving a nice car. Oftentimes they were the same people. He speculated that they might have liked him more if they saw him in a janitor’s uniform.

Middle class liberals can afford to feel more paternalistic and accepting about immigrants when it’s not their job being competed for, and in fact those immigrants make their food and services cheaper. That might be the source of confusion you feel when supposed progressives sound like nativists when it comes to South Asians.

[u/RealFee1405]

this ain't a new thing blud, it's been like this for years

[u/eye_of_gnon]

Bro reddit has been hostile towards Indians for years, I would argue it's X that picked up on the India hate from some of the country subs. When Elon announced more H1B visas last year it really went into overdrive.

[u/genotype0x]

I think a lot of people are frustrated not because they hate immigrants, but because the scale of immigration lately is just too much, too fast. It's putting serious pressure on housing, schools, and local services.

In London it doesn’t feel like people are being eased into society, more like they're replacing the existing people. Over half of London’ is foreign-born, and in some areas, English isn’t even the main language spoken at home.

Multiculturalism is fine when it comes with integration, but if people just form their own separate communities, it causes more division.

We need an immigration system that works for everyone, not just big companies who want cheap labor or colleges chasing international student fees. Ignoring or shutting down these conversations just pushes people to the extreme.

[u/BuyHigh_S3llLow → u/genotype0x]

In almost US entire history though, first generation immigrants always formed their own enclaves. That isn't new. There was Irish, there was Italian or Asian groups and such. The "americanization" process happens to 2nd gen for every immigrants group

[u/CuriosityStar]

Reddit may be left-leaning, but some subreddits like those you mentioned are definitely not, at least towards immigrants. South Asian immigrants are currently the target of these nativists in countries like UK and Canada, and even in the US with that H1B controversy. I recommend the subreddits like thebronzemovement for those that focus on the desi struggles and fighting back against these narratives.

[u/Uneeda_Biscuit → u/CuriosityStar]

South Asians have some absolute numbers on them tbf. 1.8 Billion people live on the Indian subcontinent, and a shit load are doing their best to get out of there.

With numbers like that, it’s noticeable when a million people from Punjab show up in a place like Canada.

[u/CuriosityStar → u/Uneeda_Biscuit]

Asia accounts for around 60% of the world's population, that's numbers in general. Doesn't help that natives already hold prejudice against South Asians and other Asians even without the immigration boom, whether it be taking jobs or driving up housing prices, etc.

The immigration systems for countries like Canada also hold some blame for not effectively facilitating this, just like with the predominantly West Asian refugee crisis in Europe.

[u/ParadoxicalStairs]

I know in Canada, the anti-Indian sentiment is growing 😔

In the US, at least where I live, Indians and south Asians are accepted. I don’t think they receive worse racism than other groups.

[u/ChinaThrowaway83]

Reddit's always been like this. I saw a few posts about it like one where some Eastern European ran over someone they hit and every comment was about how everyone in China would do it because it's part of Chinese culture because those racists thought it took place in China. They said Chinese people are worried they'll have to pay for a lifetime as an apology.

A lot of main subs are more conservative leaning.

[u/Wydings]

Indians are just the new butt of the joke for the YTs because they’ve become more visible in recent times. Hang in there because eventually these YTs will get bored and move on to the next group.

[u/Rus1996 → u/Wydings]

Who is the next group ? 🤔

[u/Emotional-Track7590 → u/Rus1996]

Maybe after Trump has finished destroying USA, MAGA people will be the new butt of jokes since they ruined a perfectly running economy.

[u/CuriosityStar → u/Rus1996]

Friendly extraterrestrials when human supremacists warmonger and advocate for "Super Earth"

[u/TheCommentator2019 → u/Rus1996]

How knows? Could be Chinese, given all the anti-China rhetoric in Western media.

[u/emperorhideyoshi → u/Rus1996]

Africans

[u/pop442 → u/emperorhideyoshi]

That's implying that Africans haven't already been targeted for years....

[u/emperorhideyoshi → u/pop442]

I’m talking about African economic blocs and specific countries becoming superpowers and having American money dedicated to propaganda against them.

[u/CuriosityStar → u/pop442]

When a new African superpower inevitably arrives, the powers that be will have another seizure and this time, it's the African diasporas whom will find themselves in the crosshairs. Pan-Africanism will revive, and I wager more folks with some African descent will want to get in touch with their ancestral cultures.

I wonder if people like Tariq Nasheed and his Foundational Black Americans might do a 180 and embrace Pan-Africanism. One thing is for sure, the myth of black inferiority that's a central pillar of white supremacy will finally be shattered, and a multipolar global world order they fear will come to be.

[u/pop442 → u/CuriosityStar]

Ironically, Tariq did used to embrace Pan-Africanism before the reparations discussions blew up and he switched up. Hell, Hidden Colors was full of Pan-Africanism. He's just a wave rider and a grifter.

But I actually do agree that Africa rising as an economic and soft power will be seen as a threat.

[u/emperorhideyoshi → u/pop442]

I always wondered why he was on the FBA thing because Hidden Colors was the most well known pan African documentary

[u/CuriosityStar → u/pop442]

Never understood why Tariq puts so much emphasis on delineation when many Americans still oppose any reparations at all. I might be overstepping my boundaries here, but I don't think highly of this separation of a significant part of the African diaspora from the rest of the diaspora outside the US and the natives in Africa. Yes, there are unique circumstances and backgrounds that shouldn't be ignored, but I believe the wider picture reveals that a united Pan-African struggle is needed against anti-black and anti-African sentiment around the world.

It's like if Asian Americans intentionally dissociated themselves from their heritage and went along with laughing at other Asians. Plenty of such individuals, this subreddit rightfully scorns them as "bobas" and "pick-mes."

It is a fact that Africa as a whole is rising, just like much of the global South. Nigeria and several other countries seem pretty promising, though they also have major problems that need to be dealt with. Don't forget that the combined African diaspora is the largest and most widespread in the world, possibly more than all the other diasporas combined (Hmm, I wonder why?). This can be a crucial factor; think of the Jewish diaspora's influence and historical relationship with the state of Israel, now multiply it by magnitudes higher. Ultimately, it is up to how African countries play their cards and how the wider world, including the diverse diaspora, interacts with them. An exciting and quite underrepresented topic, though there probably won't be an "African century" in our lifetimes.

[u/bortalizer93]

the only type of immigrant i'm against are the ones who think they turned white the second they stepped their foot in white man's country.

went on about how asian in diaspora are better and more enlightened than asians in asia, talking shit about their own culture and people.

first of all, that's a lot of mad smack for someone whose biggest nightmare is a large enough mirror. and it became downright pathetic once you realized that mentality is the exact same mentality that push them down in their diaspora.

[u/TheCommentator2019]

Elon Musk transformed Twitter into a 4chan wannabe shitshow called X. That opened the floodgates to fascists spewing all kinds of racist shit all over X. In turn, that's emboldened fascists on Reddit to spew racist rhetoric on this site.

Last year, X/Twitter sparked racist riots in the UK primarily targeting South Asians... Ironically, it was mainly white areas that were impacted by the riots, as the white rioters were scared to target places with large ethnic populations.

[u/accesslet]

This originally kicked off due to white supremacist racists on social media. Most immigrants are not entitled to welfare safety nets, nor are they more skilled than local born and usually work odd jobs that most local born would NEVER do.

Real-estate prices are inflated by rich business moguls, which hold property as assets, they buy up huge chunks of it. Most immigrants I noticed are jumbled up in small rental rooms, with 3 to 6 guys sharing the same room and paying the rent to a local citizen.

By the way, they're fine with whyte immigrants, when they talk about the types of immigrants they don't want it usually means non-whyte races. Over the years of my interactions with them on X/Twitter, exchanging messages and confronting them, it usually ends with them saying "Y" country for the whytes.

Look at this example, they were fine with Ukrainian immigrants, fine with South-African immigrants. But are not willing to take other groups or give them refuge, despite knowing other parts of the world also has a fair share of people that are suffering.

[u/Alula_Australis]

I've seen a lot regarding the "stealing jobs" thing because companies are 1. offshoring and 2. The market for low level/entry CS is not great right now due to AI hype plus 3. At least in the US, the Orange Man and Musk cutting fed jobs + looming recession + tariffs making domestic manufacturing more expensive.

[u/Emotional-Track7590 → u/Alula_Australis]

They are suffering from the mess created by their politicians and instead of holding their leaders accountable, they rather blame it on immigrants and other groups of people.

[u/Afraid-Pressure-3646]

Try my luck with moderators and stick to subreddits that aren’t full of bigots.

Every group has their own hangout spot and whoever created Reddit needs to look at those groups you mentioned if the platform was willing to ban Musk and Twitter.