As many as 523 Hindutva pop hate songs were streamed on different platforms, including YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Meta, promoting hatred mainly towards Muslims and Christians, the report by the Centre for the Study of Organised Hate revealed in the study “Profiting from the Hate Music: The Role of YouTube, Meta, Spotify, and Apple Music in Hosting and Monetising India’s Hate Music Industry.”
The organization said that the report, through a “first-of-its-kind database,” highlights the platforms’ complicity in allowing such songs to “flourish largely unchecked.”
Out of the total 523 songs, the report said that 210 songs were on YouTube, 109 on Spotify, 103 on Meta’s Music Library, and 101 on Apple Music by 59 artists. The songs on YouTube were viewed more than 198 million times, and songs in Meta’s Music Library were used in over 5.9 million Instagram reels.
The report further stated that one in two songs explicitly called for violence against the minority communities. The report highlighted that 50% of the total number of songs were directly threatening hatred.
Mayur Musics releasing 25 Hindutva pop songs was awarded YouTube’s Silver Creator Award. In the meantime, out of 30 Hindutva pop singers, 20 of them had monetized Facebook accounts.
The report also took the example of singer Sandeep Acharya and highlighted that despite his account having been suspended around three times, 21 of his Hindutva pop songs are available over YouTube.
“Hate music is one of the oldest and most dangerous instruments of mass violence, and we have seen where it leads, from Rwanda to Myanmar,” said the executive director of CSOH, Raqib Naik.
The report highlighted that most of the songs are a combination of hateful rhetoric with polarizing visuals to surge the impact.
It said that a song titled Ram Mandir shows visuals of Mughals as invaders, assaulting women and murdering children, with views of over 9.6 million and more than 2.56 lakh likes and 19,000 comments.
Meanwhile, the song “Bhogol Hi Badal Jaayega” shows Hindus rising with swords, claiming that “enemies” will be beheaded and their existence will be wiped out.
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