Racists spreading stereotypes, lies to malign Indians; mass reporting them best solution: Hindutva Knight

In the past few months, X account -- @HPhobiaWatch (Hindutva Knight) -- has gained significant traction for tackling the anti-India propaganda on the micro-blogging site. In a candid conversation with Prateek Shukla, the person behind the account speaks on a range of issues -- including Hinduphobia in the West, racism against Indians, and X giving greater reach to posts demeaning Indians.

Your handle is HPhobiaWatch -- essentially Hindu Phobia Watch. What triggered you to create this account?

The term *Hinduphobia* was first explained in detail by the American Hindu Foundation in 2022, where they discussed the discrimination faced by Hindus in Western universities due to their religious identities. However, the dehumanisation of the Hindu community has been happening in India for decades, particularly in Marxist-backed Indian universities under the guise of the anti-casteism movement. 

Slogans like "Brahmanwad se azaadi, Manuwad se azadi" are used as an excuse for promoting hatred against Hindus. Manusmriti is burnt in universities under accusations of misogyny and discrimination, and Hindus are shamed for it, even though it is not a religious scripture. Meanwhile, the scriptures of other religions, which actually contain discriminatory content, face no scrutiny. Such bias made me realise the seriousness of Hinduphobia, so I created this handle to counter this hypocrisy.

Your method of dealing with racist accounts, although effective, has come under scrutiny. Recently, you were even mentioned on a foreign news channel. What are your views on this?

My way of dealing with racists is perfectly legal and in line with Twitter's (now X's) community guidelines. Twitter encourages its users to report violent messaging, hate speech, and racial slurs to make the platform a safe space for civil discourse. Recently, I was mentioned on *Infowars* by guest Leonarda Jonie, a part-time comedian and full-time Twitter racist. She blamed me for suspending her account and accused Elon Musk of taking away her free speech rights. She also claimed that I was "gaming the system," which, to me, sounds like a compliment. Overall, it feels satisfying to see an adversary put you on a pedestal.

What do you think is behind the rise in Hindu hatred (and, more broadly, malice against Indians) in the West?

The answer to this question could fill a book or a research thesis, but I will try to explain briefly. Hatred against Indians on the internet is not new. It started on platforms like 4chan and r/greentext, though the audience was small at first and mostly consisted of edgy teens. Later, it spread to Facebook through dank meme groups like DSS (Designated Street Shitting Memes) and eventually made its way to Instagram.

The major surge in racial stereotypes occurred when Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie made the racist song "Bitch Lasagna" after losing a subscriber battle to the Indian music company T-Series. From 2017 to 2020, there was a wave of generalisation and propaganda against Indians on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, though it slowly faded. The next wave of anti-India rhetoric began after the Israel-Palestine conflict. Many Indians naturally support Israel, given their historical experience with Islamic aggression, which makes sense. 

When Hamas attacked the music festival on October 7, 2023, they were accompanied by over 40 Arab journalists. This time, they aimed to generate global outrage by presenting themselves as victims, despite having initiated the conflict. As Israel retaliated, social media became flooded with images of destroyed cities and wounded civilians, leading to global protests — except in India. Consequently, another wave of anti-India sentiment emerged. Islamists, backed by Qatari money, teamed up with far-right white nationalists to dehumanise Indians in a manner similar to how Israelis were treated. This is a clear case of diversion tactics, where Christians and Muslims unite against common perceived enemies. Elon Musk's monetisation of Twitter has also encouraged many racist accounts to engage in rage-baiting against Indians.

Would you agree that the actions of a few people in foreign nations, and posts by a few uncouth (dehati) accounts, harm India's reputation abroad?

Yes, definitely. The rulebook of every propaganda effort is to repeat a lie a thousand times until it becomes the truth. The same applies to stereotypes. Stereotypes like India being unsafe, unwelcoming, or unhygienic hurt third-world developing countries even more.

Speaking of India, do you feel Hindus are under attack in their own country? Are they aware of the threat, and if so, are they responding appropriately?

Hindus are under threat demographically, socially, culturally, and economically. The Hindu population has dropped below 80% for the first time. Hindus are a minority in nine states, they have faced ethnic cleansing in Kashmir, and they face social and cultural threats from Marxist-controlled academia and media. Additionally, they face economic threats from the halal industry and waqf land laws. I would say about 30% of Hindus are aware of these threats, and they are responding against all odds.

Lastly, what do you think is the solution to combat X promoting anti-India propaganda?

The best solution is to organise in large numbers and mass report racist accounts. Doxing, though unethical, can be weaponised against racism, which is a bigger crime. Another approach is to target the advertisers behind these racist posts and make them aware of the situation so they withdraw their ads. For example, World Bank pulling its ads from X expedited Barry's suspension. We can also pressure Elon Musk to officially recognise Hinduphobic slurs in X's community guidelines.

NOTE: Barry (Stanton) was known for making hateful posts about Indian immigrants. His X account (now suspended) was verified and had over 180,000 followers.

Follow @HPhobiaWatch here -- https://x.com/HPhobiaWatch