Fear-based narratives spread through Chinese, Indian, Filipino, and Vietnamese media ecosystems and calls for greater investment in trusted, community-centered information.
San Francisco – Across Asian immigrant communities, fear-based disinformation is increasingly fueling anti-immigrant sentiment and has been weaponized to divide communities, creating deep fractures at the very moment when unity is most needed, according to a new report examining information ecosystems across Chinese, Indian, Filipino, and Vietnamese American communities — the four largest Asian American communities.
Drawing on original research and analysis from trusted community-based organizations, the report finds that in 2025, anti-immigration narratives intensified across in-language media, social media platforms, and diaspora networks. These narratives frequently portray immigrants — particularly undocumented immigrants — as criminals, economic burdens, or threats to public safety, reinforcing fear and an “us versus them” mentality.
The findings underscore how disinformation is not simply a matter of false information circulating online. It is part of a broader, interconnected information ecosystem that exploits cultural context, historical tensions, and differences in immigration experiences to influence political attitudes and weaken solidarity.
“Mass ICE enforcement and anti-immigrant policies under the Trump administration have left immigrant communities living in fear, and disinformation makes that fear worse. Our goal of the report is to help the public see how today’s information ecosystem is being turned against immigrant communities just when they need support the most,” said Jinxia Niu, senior program manager, Chinese for Affirmative Action’s Chinese Digital Engagement. She leads Piyaoba, the first Chinese-language fact-checking website in the U.S.
“In this changing landscape, it’s crucial that our intergenerational communities have access to tools and context to make informed decisions when confronted with feeds of potentially dangerous information. We can combat this by identifying those narratives and their impact,” said Leezel Tanglao, Project Director, Tayo.
“Immigration-related disinformation spreads across Asian American communities through interconnected networks that leverage identity and fear to influence opinions and sow internal division. The Indian American community faces immigration disinformation both from far-right Hindu supremacist networks promoting anti-immigrant rhetoric and from the MAGA movement. Many of these groups thought their alignment with MAGA’s hostility toward Muslims and poorer migrants would protect them from MAGA’s nativist and racist side. Instead, they—along with all our communities—have become another one of its targets. We as progressive advocates must foster solidarity and actively protect all communities against xenophobic attacks and disinformation,” said Prachi Patankar, Savera Coalition
“For a nation that prides itself on being ‘built by immigrants’, immigrant communities are facing increasing violence fueled by widespread misinformation narratives and concerted disinformation campaigns. The true insidious nature of these narratives lies in their ability not only to encourage hate toward immigrants but also to turn immigrant communities against each other. As diasporic communities confront unique and escalating struggles, we cannot allow division to amplify our weaknesses while our communities are manipulated to vote and act against our own best interests. Solidarity in action requires clarity and understanding, which we must collectively achieve,” said Saoli Nguyen, Managing Editor, Viet Fact Check.
The report identifies four key trends:
- Fear-based narratives are spreading across in-language and diaspora media. Ethnic media outlets, social media influencers, and transnational networks are amplifying and adapting broader right-wing talking points, often framing immigrants as threats to economic security, public safety, or national identity.
- Disinformation is deepening divisions within Asian American communities. Narratives that distinguish between “deserving” and “undeserving” immigrants exploit differences in legal status, class, religion, and national origin. Historical experiences of colonialism, war, refugee resettlement, and geopolitical conflict can also be manipulated to reinforce these divisions.
- Communities face persistent gaps in trusted, culturally and linguistically relevant information. Fragmented and under-resourced in-language media ecosystems can leave community members vulnerable to misinformation, while limited opportunities for open dialogue make it harder to challenge false claims and build understanding across differences.
- Technology is accelerating the spread of harmful narratives. Algorithmic amplification, weakened content moderation, and emerging technologies such as generative AI can increase the reach of disinformation while making accurate, community-centered information more difficult to find.
The consequences extend beyond these communities. Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. and an increasingly diverse and important part of the electorate, with the potential to swing elections. Immigration remains a central issue in national and local politics and the spread of disinformation threatens immigrant well-being, undermines trust, and weakens multiracial democracy.
A CALL FOR COORDINATED ACTION
The report calls on philanthropy, public institutions, media organizations, and technology companies to take coordinated steps to strengthen information integrity and support communities facing anti-immigration disinformation.
Key priorities include strengthening platform standards and accountability, particularly for non-English content and diaspora media; increasing investment in ethnic media and in-language information infrastructure; supporting trusted community messengers and influencer networks; creating opportunities to address internal divisions and engage across differences; and building the coordination and capacity necessary for credible, fact-based voices to reach broader audiences.
The report emphasizes that effective responses must go beyond debunking individual false claims. Addressing disinformation requires sustained investment in the people, institutions, and information networks that communities already trust, alongside stronger accountability for the platforms and systems that shape what information reaches them.
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Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) was founded in 1969 to protect the civil and political rights of Chinese Americans and to advance multiracial democracy in the United States. Today, CAA is a progressive voice in and on behalf of the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community. We advocate for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial and social injustice. You can learn more about us at caasf.org.
Savera is a new platform bringing together a multiracial, interfaith, anticaste coalition of organizations and activists to build a new world where all people are able to live in harmony, dignity, and liberation. We are committed to resisting the rising tides of hatred, and combating all forms of supremacist politics, and the intersections between them. wearesavera.org
Viet Fact Check seeks to empower Vietnamese Americans with fact-checked, source-verified analysis and rebuttals in English and Vietnamese to combat the onslaught of misinformation that is circulating widely in our Vietnamese American communities. vietfactcheck.org
Tayo, a project of the Filipino Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO), is an innovative data hub that empowers Filipinx/a/o communities by collecting data, fostering partnerships, publishing culturally relevant insights, and developing leaders to create an equitable and sustainable future. tayohelp.com