Indian cow vigilante violence thrives on Instagram despite community guidelines, study shows

A report released by US-based thinktank Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) on Tuesday reveals cow vigilantes in various Indian states use Instagram to promote extremist content, glorify anti-minority violence, and fundraise in violation of the social media platform’s community guidelines.

The report titled “Streaming Violence: How Instagram Fuels Cow Vigilantism in India” tracked and analyzed 1,023 Instagram accounts of individuals and groups involved in cow vigilantism in India.

Cow vigilantism has led to several mob lynchings in the country, an overwhelming number of them after the BJP came over in 2014.

A total of 167 Instagram posts depicting explicit violence by cow vigilantes were reported by selecting the “showing violence, death, or severe injury” option under the “violence, hate, and exploitation” category. Despite clear guideline violations, Instagram failed to remove any, resulting in a 100% inaction rate.

The study presents live and archive links to Instagram content that depicts violence by cow vigilantes.

“We are asking Meta to right away designate Gau Raksha Dals and other associated Hindu nationalist groups like Bajrang Dal and Vishu Hindu Parishad as tier one dangerous organizations,” Raqib Hameed Naik, Founder & Executive Director CSOH, told Maktoob. According to the report, Instagram is rife with accounts of vigilantes who use their platform to promote hateful content, publicize acts of actual violence against minorities, and glorify the use of violence by vigilantes.

The failure of Meta to classify and designate these accounts as part of its policy is a clear failure of enforcement.”

Affiliation with the ruling government

Nine of the 50 most-followed accounts, and 71 of the 1023 accounts overall (6.9%), had Bajrang Dal in their usernames, indicating their possible affiliation with the Hindu nationalist organization by the same name. 

The report also highlights that there were 834 accounts where the Instagram account’s location or the Indian state it was actively posting from or about, was clearly distinguishable. States where the BJP is currently in power, either on its own or in a coalition, accounted for 793 of the 834 accounts – 95%.

The BJP-ruled northern Indian state of Haryana accounted for more than a third of the 834 profiles analyzed, with 320 accounts (38.3%).

The report has revealed, that these groups have also been enabled, supported, and empowered by state-level programs in BJP-ruled states, to act as proxies for state authorities with regard to cow protection movements.

Meta failed

The platform not only allows the glorification of violence but also enables financial support for these groups through features like “Send Gifts,” further entrenching a culture of violence and intimidation.

“The unchecked proliferation of violent content by cow vigilante groups on Meta’s platforms underscores a profound failure of the company to uphold its own community guidelines and to take responsibility for the real-world consequences of the content that it hosts in the Indian context,” the report concluded.

CSOH analyzed 121 Instagram reels showing vigilantes engaging in physical violence against people who were transporting cattle. The 121 reels had 8.3 million plays in all. As many as 9 of the 121 posts (7.4%) had more than 100,000 plays each.

100 of the 121 (82.6%) reels showing physical violence by vigilantes had no graphic content filter placed on them by Instagram.

“The inaction of Meta on cow vigilante accounts contributes to real physical danger, threats to life, and a near-permanent state of precarity in which Indian Muslims and other minorities find themselves. This inaction incentivizes others to join these groups or start similar ventures for financial gain and popularity.”

The report also urges Meta to Immediately disable the “Send Gift” option for all cow vigilante accounts, including all accounts identified in the report.