Online hate against South Asian Americans rises steadily, report says
WASHINGTON — Online hate against Americans of South Asian ancestry has risen steadily in 2023 and 2024 with the rise of politicians from that community to prominence, according to a report released Wednesday by nonprofit group Stop AAPI Hate. Why it's important Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris is of Indian descent, as are former Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance, is also Indian American. Harris faces Republican former President Donald Trump in the 2024 U.S. elections. There has been a steady rise in anti-Asian hate in extremist online spaces from January 2023 to August 2024, the report said. The nonprofit group blamed the rise on a "toxic political climate in which a growing number of leaders and…