Scapegoating Of Asians And Asian Americans Is Major Element In Reported Hate Incidents: Report

In a new report, the advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate finds of the tens of thousands of hate incidents recorded during the pandemic, 20% of them involved racial scapegoating of Asians and Asian Americans.

What Scapegoating Means

Cyntha Choi, the group’s co-founder, says scapegoating "simply happens when a group is unfairly blamed for current events — whether it’s something like the pandemic or downturn in the economy."

What This Looks Like In Real Life

The report contains several powerful examples:

• "In the week after President Trump’s first Tweet using 'Chinese virus' on March 16, 2020, Twitter hashtags expressing anti-Asian sentiment increased by 174 times."
• "As of 2022, 21% of Americans of all backgrounds believed that Asian Americans are at least partly responsible for COVID-19 — almost twice as many as those surveyed the previous year."
• The reports also says that more than 2,100 incidents in its dataset "invoke language that blames Asian and Asian American community members for COVID-19, with some accompanied by threats of violence."

Why Now

The group is trying to "spotlight and call out harm that irresponsible scapegoating rhetoric used by politicians during election season can cause to Asian and Asian-American communities," Choi said.

What You Can Do

The full report includes tips for elected officials, candidates, organizers, government entities and, really, all of us. Here are recommendations for members of the Asian American community and allies:

Read The Full Report