'Muzlim, K2A, Jih@di, Mull@h': How Right-Wing Trolls Bypass Hate Speech Filters on Twitter

New Delhi: Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami was subject to a wave of online abuse from right-wing trolls on social media following India’s T20 World Cup loss to Pakistan. While his religious identity singled him out from the rest of the team, the accusations were accordingly “communal” in nature. Hate-mongering campaigns on social media have seen a string of successes recently, painting an entire community as the “enemy”. In all cases, the targets have inevitably been Muslims, whether it was Shami, Aryan Khan or Kashmiri students after the India-Pakistan match. And Twitter is failing to check online hate, abuse and threats against Muslims more than any other community in India. This story unfolds as a common one, and begins from a personal experience that escalated into a deeper dive into the world of saffron trolls. One day after winning a National Film Award for Best Actress, Kangana Ranaut – who is fighting a defamation suit filed against her by lyricist Javed Akhtar – visited the former jail cell of Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar and paid tribute to the Hindutva view of history. Also read: A Twitter Ban Is a Tough Pill to Swallow, but a Medicine We Need More Of I posted…
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