Coordinated Disinformation Fuels Anti-Muslim Hate Speech in the West

Zohran Mamdani, 34, won New York City’s mayoral race on November 5, 2025, in a contest that energized young voters, defeating independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, a former governor of New York. Mamdani became the city’s first mayor of South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa, as well as its first Muslim mayor.

His victory sparked discussions about the future of the U.S. Democratic Party, but it also drew criticism and backlash targeting Muslims in the U.S. and other Western countries. In the aftermath, a surge of disinformation and online anti-Muslim hate speech emerged, amplifying hostility toward these communities.

A Wave of Anti-Muslim Hate Speech Sparks Online

Online anti-Muslim hate speech, or Islamophobia, is not new. It has long targeted Muslim communities, particularly those living in Western countries. However, following Mamdani’s victory, such hate speech surged noticeably online.

Last week, an Afghan national was identified as the suspect in an ambush attack that claimed the life of one U.S. National Guard member and wounded another, just blocks away from the White House. The 29-year-old Afghan, who previously worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, entered the U.S. in 2021 through a program for Afghans who had cooperated with American troops after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and rising concerns about potential retribution against those who had worked with the U.S. following the Taliban’s takeover. He applied for asylum in 2024, and his application was granted earlier this year, according to media reports. However, he reportedly suffered from mental health issues.

The attack has further fueled a wave of online anti-Muslim hate speech, targeting not only Muslims but also migrants and refugees more broadly.

“Grateful for our heroic dogs! They take well care of our foreign troublemakers. Is this why Islam hates them?” wrote a user alongside a video showing a police dog attacking a young man after being stopped by a policeman.

Another user reposted the publication and commented: “Watch as this hero dog bites this #muslim pig.”

Recycled and outdated videos have resurfaced on social media, fueling this wave of hate speech. A video showing Muslims praying outdoors went viral, with users claiming it depicts Muslims choosing to pray on the grounds of Westminster Abbey despite having “over 500 mosques in London.”

“There are over 500 mosques in London, but they chose to pray on the grounds of Westminster Abbey, the most sacred site in the Anglican Church,” the user wrote on X.

The claim gained traction, with users questioning why the UK “allowed” so many mosques to exist, further fueling backlash.

Using reverse image search, we found that the video is outdated and originally surfaced in October 2012. A YouTube channel named Steve Riley uploaded the clip he said he filmed on October 6, 2012, with the title: “London muslims protest praying in westminster abbey grounds i was offended.”

The channel owner indicated in the description that he “nearly got arrested for filming this.” He said the police asked him if he found the group of Muslims praying in the Westminster Abby grounds offensive, and he said yes, the same as if non-Muslims did their prayers in a mosque.

The channel added that the video filmer told a priest standing outside that the group of Muslims are mocking them, and said the priest or vicar answered: “I am not allowed to say anything but i will be locking the gates very shortly.”

The channel owner concluded: “just about sums this country up even the church are scared to speak out against this religion.”

Profiles Devoted to “Coordinated” Anti-Muslim Hate Campaigns

Misbar's team monitored the account that recycled the 2012 footage, operating under the name Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf), which identifies itself in the media and news category with the bio: “Breaking News, History, Geopolitics.”

We reviewed the account’s last 60 publications as of Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 15:14 GMT, and found that 100% of the posts, regardless of whether they contain disinformation, actively promote hate speech against Muslims living in foreign countries, either directly or indirectly criticizing Islam.

Many of the same videos were posted multiple times with explicit hate speech. Among the videos published by the account, 23 videos/publications, including replicated and duplicated content, explicitly target Muslim women’s images, often focusing on topics such as the hijab.

Misbar found that this account posted the prayer video multiple times with the same exact caption, including on May 31, September 8, and October 15, 2025, consistently reviving it whenever anti-Muslim narratives gained traction.

The same account also shared another old video showing Muslims praying outdoors, writing: “There are 581 mosques in New York. So why do they still pray on the streets?”

Another user reposted the video, commenting: “They do this to mark new territory and assert dominance over the region. It’s literally like dogs peeing to mark their new territory. They don’t do this in muslim countries.” Meanwhile, additional users described the prayers as a “demonstration of power and dominance” over New York and its streets.

However, the video dates back several months and first surfaced online in June 2025.

We also monitored several other accounts exhibiting a similar pattern, sharing misleading or decontextualized content designed to provoke anger and hatred toward Muslims. The trend goes beyond a single video, with users resurfacing unverified footage of Muslims praying in the streets during what appears to be a demonstration with Palestinian flags. The posts criticized and mocked the practice of public prayer, describing it as a “huge provocation.”

Other users went so far as to encourage violence, while many others used memes and satirical content to further stoke hatred.

How Coordinated Disinformation Amplifies Hate Speech?

Outdated videos, decontextualized clips, and algorithm-driven amplification—often boosted by networks of fake accounts, imposters, and coordinated sock puppets manipulating discussions, amplifying messages, and giving the illusion of public support—play a critical role in shaping toxic narratives about targeted communities.

When such content is repeatedly circulated, decontextualized, and framed through hate speech or misleading claims, it becomes an impactful disinformation tool, which gets further intensified during or after real-life incidents involving terrorists, armed groups, or militant actors.

Accounts amplifying this type of content often take advantage of public fear and confusion to inject older or unrelated content into the conversation. These accounts create a fertile environment for manipulation by aligning such content with real events, making harmful narratives appear credible and pushing normal users/viewers to engage, share, or even adopt hostile views toward specific communities targeted by these hate-speech or disinformation campaigns.

Hate Speech and the Reproduction of “Demographic Shift” Stereotypes

According to sociology researcher Yassine Bouchouar, this wave of digital discourse that coincided with Zahran Mamdani's victory cannot be understood separately from the historical structures that produce negative stereotypes associated with immigrants in the West.

In an interview with Misbar, Bouchouar points out that this specific structure has undergone successive transformations, moving from associating immigrants with economic, social, and security threats to employing anti-Semitism at certain moments as a tool for constructing perceptions about “the other.”

Right after, “Islamophobia became the most prevalent framework with the rise of Muslims' political and cultural presence in the West and the proliferation of violent extremism associated with immigrants of Islamic background.”

From the researcher’s perspective, the controversy sparked by the arrival of such a Muslim immigrant to a prominent political position is a continuation of this “historical tradition of producing a speech of doubt and suspicion.”

Bouchouar asserts that the digital interactions that emerged after the victory show a high potential for the spread of stereotypes, reducing religious and cultural affiliations to closed normative models. “Some political and media actors contributed to directing this debate toward issues of identity rather than political issues,” Bouchouar emphasized.

Bouchouar also told Misbar that Donald Trump's statements played a prominent role, as they attributed significance to Mamdani's victory that went beyond the electoral results, describing him as a “communist.”

“This presidential stance does not reflect political rivalry, but rather legitimizes incitement and allows hate speech to move from the margins to the public sphere,” he added.

According to the researcher, this discourse—whether intentional or the result of coordinated digital dynamics—relies on reproducing stereotypes about the “demographic shift” and the associated debates on identity, belonging, and political signification, in addition to harnessing and building upon right-wing discourse and narratives.

In terms of the potential implications of this wave, Bouchouar suggests three levels: first, a rearrangement of public perceptions of Muslims within Western countries, particularly regarding integration and civic engagement; second, direct effects on migrants’ status, given that digital discussions tend to generalize individual cases; third, the production of a global structure that contributes to the recycling of certain patterns of discourse about Islam and Muslims.

Bouchouar concludes that the rise of immigrant and Muslim figures to power is far from being an isolated event. However, it reflects a structural tension on identity and citizenship in the Western debate. Hence, “analyzing this wave requires a deconstruction of its historical development, political considerations driving its shifts, and demographic variables giving it traction,” the researcher stressed.

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