AI-fuelled Islamophobia surges in India; Sexualised depictions of Muslim women dominate hate content
Report
New Delhi: Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated Islamophobic content has witnessed a sharp spike in India since mid-2024, with the sexualised portrayal of Muslim women emerging as the most prominent and engaging form of hate imagery, according to a recent report by the Washington DC-based Centre for the Study of Organised Hate (CSOH).
The report titled “AI-generated Imagery and the New Frontier of Islamophobia in India,” as cited by The Print on Friday, analysed 1,326 publicly available AI-generated images and videos from 297 public accounts across X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. These posts, uploaded between May 2023 and May 2025, showed a dramatic rise in synthetic hate content starting June 2024, peaking in September 2024—coinciding with the emergence of the "Rail Jihad" conspiracy theory—and again in March 2025, during the rise of Ghibli Art trends.
The study identified four key themes in AI-generated Islamophobic content: sexualisation of Muslim women, dehumanising rhetoric, conspiratorial narratives, and aestheticised violence.
Among these, posts featuring the sexualised depiction of Muslim women attracted the highest engagement—6.7 million interactions. These AI-created images often showed women in burqas surrounded by groups of men, accompanied by captions alluding to incest and moral deviance.
AI tools were also widely used to promote conspiracy theories such as “Love Jihad,” “Population Jihad,” and “Rail Jihad,” portraying Muslims as threats to India’s integrity. Dehumanising content, which constituted nearly a quarter (23.4%) of the analysed posts, frequently used animal imagery to depict Muslims and called for violence or exclusion.
The report also found that posts in the category of aestheticised violence used AI to normalise and legitimise anti-Muslim violence.
Despite violating community guidelines, around 187 reported posts remained online across X, Instagram, and Facebook, underscoring the persistent failure of the platforms to enforce their policies.
These posts received a total engagement of 2,73,00,000 across X, Instagram, and Facebook, as measured by the sum of likes, comments, reposts, and shares.
In terms of reach, X recorded the highest activity, with over 24.1 million views, 5,64,400 likes, 29,200 comments, and 1,79,800 shares. Instagram followed with 15,30,000 likes and 3,13,100 shares, while Facebook saw relatively lower engagement.
The CSOH report also identified several “Hindu nationalist media platforms” as key contributors in promoting and amplifying AI-generated Islamophobic content. “Hindu nationalist media outlets, notably OpIndia, Sudarshan News, and Panchjanya, played a central role in producing and amplifying synthetic hate, embedding Al-generated Islamophobia into mainstream discourse,” the report stated.
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Deve Gowda hints at NDA tie-up for local body, Panchayat polls
Bengaluru: JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has indicated that the party is open to an understanding with the NDA in the upcoming local body, taluk and zilla panchayat elections.
Speaking to reporters at J.P. Bhavan on Wednesday, he said the JD(S) is a regional party, while the BJP is a national party. “We have to wait and see what decision they take regarding a pre-poll alliance. As far as local body elections are concerned, we will discuss the matter together before taking a decision,” he said.
Responding to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s allegation that the JD(S) does not give positions to anyone outside the family, Deve Gowda said the charge has no substance. “My memory is still strong. I will respond to everything at the appropriate time,” he remarked.
He also said that a JD(S) convention will be held in Vijayapura on February 27 and that he has been invited to participate in the event.
