Streaming platforms profit from Hindutva ‘hate music’, fail to enforce moderation policies: Study

Social media and streaming platforms such as YouTube, Meta, Apple Music and Spotify host and profit from Hindutva “hate music” that dehumanises Muslims and Christians, and incites violence against them, according to a study by a Washington DC-based non-profit think tank released on Monday.

The Center for the Study of Organized Hate, identified 523 Hindutva hate songs on the four platforms that violated content policies. Of these, 210 songs were on YouTube, 109 on Spotify, 103 on the Meta music library and 101 on Apple Music.

More than 50% of the 523 songs directly threatened or incited violence against religious minorities, while the rest promoted or incited hatred through slurs and dehumanisation, the study said.

When 225 songs were reported to the four platforms in October for content policy violations, only 18 had been removed by May, a takedown rate of 8%, it added.

“Enforcement is superficial and easily circumvented,” the organisation noted. “Artists whose channels are terminated create new ones.”

It cited the example of singer Sandeep Acharya, whose accounts it said were suspended at least three times. “Yet 21 of his 26 violative songs remain available across other YouTube channels,” it noted.

Songs containing threats, violent themes

Many of the songs flagged by the study praise violence against Muslims and contain explicit threats against them.

On YouTube, the most-viewed song identified by the organisation was Bharat Ka Bacha Bacha Jai Shri Ram Bolega by Pooja Golhani, which warns Muslim “enemies” that they will be “slayed” if they obstruct Hindus.

Another song, Gau Mata by Biru Kataria, uses a slur against Muslims and threatens violence against them if they kill cows.

The song Jaago Neend Se Hindu Veeron portrays Hinduism as being under threat and alleges that Muslims and Christians are forcibly converting Hindus.

Several other songs accuse Muslims of engaging in “love jihad”.

Love jihad is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men trick Hindu women into romantic relationships with the aim of converting them to Islam. The Union home ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining such a term.

Some songs also reference Hindutva campaigns laying claim to mosques in cities in Uttar Pradesh such as Mathura and Varanasi.

“Almost all of these songs refer to Muslims either directly by name or through barely-concealed language, such as commonly-used slurs and implicit references,” the study noted. It said that several Hindutva pop songs use terms such as “traitors”, “terrorists” and “enemies” as synonyms for Muslims, and link Indian Muslims with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

‘Enforce norms, act against repeat offenders’

The organisation urged social media and streaming platforms to “invest meaningfully in consistent and proactive enforcement of guidelines” against hateful content.

“Effective moderation requires platforms to pursue content-level enforcement in combination with account-level action,” the study said. “[Platforms should ensure] that violating material is removed wherever it is hosted, rather than only from the primary account of the creator responsible.”

It also called on platforms to identify repeat offenders and “apply escalating consequences, including demonetisation” as per their own rules.

The organisation also said that while YouTube and Meta have relatively easier processes to report hateful content, Spotify and Apple Music have no straightforward reporting pathway.

“All platforms must establish clear, transparent, and timely mechanisms for communicating with users who report violations, including acknowledgment of receipt, updates on the status of reports, explanation of any action taken or not taken in response, and the grievance redressal mechanisms available to challenge platform decisions,” the study said.

Written by Neerad Pandharipande. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read: ‘H-Pop’: A cut-throat digital economy and deep-rooted hatred have fundamentally changed India