India's bid to host the 2036 Olympics has sparked a wave of racist and anti-India posts on X, with users sharing derogatory AI-generated images and hateful comments. The IOC announced seven countries, including India, as contenders, but the online backlash highlights rising anti-South Asian sentiment globally.
SEVEN DAYS AFTER the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that India and seven other countries had bid to host the 2036 Olympics, comment sections on X have been flooded with anti-India and racist posts. The IOC shared the news on October 7, 2026, and since then, the spotlight has increasingly fallen on rising anti-India and anti-South Asian hate speech, especially on X.
The news of India’s interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics was also shared by BRICS News, whose post garnered over 57.9 million views on X. More than 7,000 users commented on the post, sharing their reactions to the news, with the majority of the comments featuring GIFs and AI-generated images depicting India.
The IOC announced that the seven countries interested in hosting the 2036 Olympics include India, Qatar, Germany, South Africa, South Korea, Hungary, and Türkiye. According to The Times of India, the process is currently in the dialogue stage, and the bidding countries will be shortlisted in March 2027.
As per reports, the process is expected to identify the preferred host for the 2036 Olympics by mid-2029. India has indicated that Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is its likely choice to host the multi-sport event. Following the announcement, netizens have expressed their views on the matter, raising concerns among several critics.
Many users on X began flooding the comment sections with AI-generated images of athletes competing in areas filled with dirt and garbage. From swimming in rivers allegedly filled with human faeces to sharing images of dark-skinned individuals consuming garbage, the anti-India posts quickly turned racist, stereotypical, and hateful. Many of the posts featured human faeces and often included the caption, “Indians in the Olympics.”
Some users even shared AI-generated visuals of athletes on the track being stopped by a cow or runners racing along a busy railway track. From using derogatory terms such as “filthy,” “nightmare,” and “POOlympics” to expressing their dissent through anti-India posts, some critics noted that racist posts targeting Indians have increased drastically in recent times.
While some users acknowledged the rising pollution in the country, others highlighted the immense hatred directed at India over its bid to host the Olympics in the future. One Indian user called the hate speech against India on X “mind-boggling” and alleged that anti-India sentiment expressed through memes and AI-generated content had been amplified more than ever. They wrote, “Legitimate scrutiny of any Olympic bid should exist BUT the form much of the online reaction takes does not.”
“If civic duty wasn’t comically absent in Indian culture, and humility replaced unearned arrogance in Indian approach to outgroups, this ‘hate’ (which seems more mockery borne of frustration) would hardly be a thing,” another X user wrote.
A US research report published by the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) on September 28, 2026 explains that targeted hate campaigns are primarily directed at South Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
The report claims that the intense hostility towards South Asians could stem from US President Donald Trump’s views and immigration policies, along with growing concerns among American citizens about losing their jobs. The CSOH report, titled ‘The Rising Tide of Anti-South Asian Hate in the United States’, further claims that hate speech increased by 240%, particularly on X, between January 2024 and June 2026.
[RH/VS/HP]
(Edited by Harsh Pandey)
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