CSOH report exposes spread of Hindutva hate music across major digital platforms
523 hate songs targeting minorities in India found across YouTube, Spotify, Meta and Apple music
Washington: A report by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) has revealed the extensive presence of Hindutva hate music across major digital platforms, accusing YouTube, Meta, Spotify and Apple Music of hosting and monetizing content that promotes hatred and incitement against religious minorities in India.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the report, titled “Profiting from Hate Music: The Role of YouTube, Meta, Spotify, and Apple Music in Hosting and Monetizing India’s Hate Music Industry,” was published on June 15, 2026. It examined India’s Hindutva hate music ecosystem and identifies 523 songs across YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music and Meta’s Music Library that allegedly violate the platforms’ own content policies by promoting hatred, dehumanization and incitement to violence against religious minorities, primarily Muslims and Christians.
The CSOH is a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank dedicated to advancing research and informing policies aimed at combating hate, violence, extremism, radicalization, and online harms.
The report noted India has witnessed a sharp and sustained rise in hate speech targeting religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians. It said hate speech is increasingly being disseminated through music in the form of Hindu nationalist or Hindutva pop music (H-Pop), a genre that promotes beliefs aligned with Hindu nationalist ideology.
This music, the CSOH report said, is used to vilify and dehumanize Muslims and Christians while fostering anger, fear and hostility among sections of the Hindu majority.
The report identified YouTube as the largest host of hate music originating from India, saying the platform hosts 210 hate songs created by 98 artists, including singers and disc jockeys, despite violating YouTube’s stated content guidelines. It said that 104 of these songs (49 percent) contain direct incitement or threats of violence against Muslims and have collectively received at least 97 million views.
The report further said that Spotify hosts 109 hate songs by 53 artists, Meta’s Music Library contains 103 such songs, while Apple Music hosts 101 songs by 59 artists.
It said the remaining songs, while not explicitly calling for violence, allegedly promote hatred against Muslims and other religious minorities through dehumanizing language, derogatory slurs and conspiracy theories that cultivate fear, anger and conditions that may contribute to real-world harm against targeted communities.
The report also stated that several songs contain explicit calls to eliminate, attack, expel or otherwise remove Muslims and Christians from India while promoting the establishment of an exclusively Hindu nation. It argued that such content constitutes incitement to violence and contributes to an environment of hostility toward religious minorities.
The report concluded with a series of recommendations to YouTube, Meta, Spotify and Apple Music, outlining measures the platforms can take to enforce their content policies more effectively and curb the spread and monetization of hate music.
