Platform X used to promote hate speech, economic boycott of Muslims ahead of Deepavali

Ahead of India’s Deepavali celebrations on October 20, some far-right social media users promoted an economic boycott of non-Hindu sellers, through posts on X (formerly Twitter).

These X posts mainly took aim at Muslims selling clay lamps in small roadside shops for Deepavali, with the far-right individuals urging buyers to “choose Hindu” or buy only from other Hindu sellers.

One verified X user with a blue tick told viewers to “Buy from Hindu,” while a message in Hindi referenced the 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack and used the killings of Hindu tourists to encourage religious discrimination against Indian Muslims while shopping. The post had 2,64,000 views as of October 17.

Other posters referenced past stone pelting incidents linked to communal clashes as justification for the economic boycott of Muslim sellers. One post from a small account featured a photo of an elderly Muslim man and described a “criminal-minded populace” while calling for an economic boycott.

A cartoon-style illustration that recorded over 9,000 views showed a Muslim man holding a Pakistani flag as the X poster with a blue tick urged users not to buy from a particular Indian gold company.

Another X post by a user with a blue tick garnered 1,25,000 views. In it, the poster advised people to use their UPI app to check the seller’s name before proceeding to buy anything from them. They did not explicitly mention boycotting non-Hindus, but urged people to support those who would celebrate Deepavali in their own homes.

Some far-right posters used Generative AI media to further spread the message of a religion-based economic boycott.

The Elon Musk-owned X has faced criticism for failing to clamp down on hate speech since its takeover in 2022. Hateful content targeting Muslims, Jews, and transgender people is easy to locate on the platform, with verified users and influencers often able to monetise such content as well.