Huge increase in Islamophobic tweets in July

More than 21,000 were sent on July 15, one day after the Nice attack. Reuters

Terror attacks carried out by Islamists likely contributed to a huge spike in 'Islamophobic' tweets in July, according to the BBC.

Data showed that across the world, almost 7,000 anti-Islamic tweets were sent in English every day last month.

More than 21,000 were sent on July 15, one day after the Nice attack, during which 85 people were killed when a gunman drove a heavy lorry into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French Riviera city.

ISIS subsequently claimed that suspect Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, was "one of the soldiers of Islamic State".

Other days that saw a spike in the number of 'Islamophobic' tweets were July 26, when Catholic priest Fr Jaques Hamel was murdered by Islamists in Rouen, and the period following an ISIS attack in Baghdad on July 3.

article,article,article,article,article Related

According to think tank Demos, which analysed the data, these events "were the most likely causes" of the increase in anti-Islamic tweets.

Research director Carl Miller described the posts as "damaging, harmful, and tremendously problematic".

They were examples not of people "being angry at Islamic State, [but] people who are being angry at the wider Muslim world," he told the BBC.

However, only a minority of the tweets sent were illegal.

"Only when there's an actual threat to life are people actually breaking the law, and therefore the people that are in the online space are actually far less protected than the offline space when it comes to receiving that kind of abuse," Miller said.

A spokesperson for Twitter said the site is "continuing to invest heavily in improving our tools and enforcement systems to better allow us to identify and take faster action on abuse".

related articles
Blaming Muslims: why Christians must take the lead in fighting Islamophobia

Blaming Muslims: why Christians must take the lead in fighting Islamophobia

Islamophobia on the rise in US, says report
Islamophobia on the rise in US, says report

Islamophobia on the rise in US, says report

Huge spike in anti-Muslim hate crime across UK
Huge spike in anti-Muslim hate crime across UK

Huge spike in anti-Muslim hate crime across UK

Facebook's walls of hate: Shocking extent of Islamophobic abuse revealed

Facebook's walls of hate: Shocking extent of Islamophobic abuse revealed

Why banning the burqa is un-British – oh, and un-Christian too
Why banning the burqa is un-British – oh, and un-Christian too

Why banning the burqa is un-British – oh, and un-Christian too

News
Scots urged to reject ‘extreme’ assisted suicide legislation
Scots urged to reject ‘extreme’ assisted suicide legislation

Scottish voters are being urged to contact their MSPs ahead of a Stage One vote in Holyrood next week. 

Jeremy Clarkson warns Christianity is 'in danger' amid falling birth rates
Jeremy Clarkson warns Christianity is 'in danger' amid falling birth rates

Broadcaster and columnist Jeremy Clarkson has issued a stark warning about the future of Christianity, suggesting that a sharp decline in birth rates across the Western world could pose an existential threat to the faith’s long-term survival.

Trump denies any involvement in AI pope image amid Catholic backlash
Trump denies any involvement in AI pope image amid Catholic backlash

The controversy erupted just days before a historic Vatican conclave to elect the successor to Pope Francis.

More churches embrace AI in ministry but pastors prefer to write their own sermons - study
More churches embrace AI in ministry but pastors prefer to write their own sermons - study

More churches across the U.S. are embracing the use of Artificial Intelligence in their ministries, but pastors have stopped short of using the technology to prepare their sermons, data from the State of the Church Tech 2025 report shows.