Social media in Pakistan is not just a battleground for public opinion—it is a weaponized space where digital hate campaigns are systematically engineered. A recent research research study on tackling marginalization in online spaces reveals that these campaigns are not spontaneous expressions of public outrage but strategically designed attacks, often orchestrated by political parties, religious extremist groups, and conservative influencers. Their goal is clear: to silence marginalized voices, reinforce dominant narratives, and punish dissent.
The research identifies three core mechanisms through which these hate campaigns gain traction. First, coordinated hashtag mobilization allows attacks to be centralized, ensuring that hate speech and disinformation reach maximum visibility. Second, political and religious influencers strategically push these narratives, using social media clout to frame activists as immoral, un-Islamic, or anti-state. Finally, once these campaigns reach virality, everyday users join in, amplifying the hate organically—a process that makes the attacks appear spontaneous, even when they are deliberately engineered.
One key research finding is that political parties—especially those with strong youth wings—engineer digital hate campaigns whenever a movement challenges state impunity while they are in power. These networks deploy digital operatives to hijack conversations, misrepresent narratives, and create mass hostility against feminists, transgender activists, and religious minorities. A prime example is how transgender persons are framed as existential threats to Pakistani culture and morality. When they demand legislative protection, political digital cells manufacture outrage by pushing viral hashtags, distorting slogans, and using religious rhetoric to rally anger, shifting focus from governance failures to cultural anxieties.
Religious extremist groups, such as Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and other ideologically driven networks, shape online hate campaigns, but their targeting strategies vary by group. The research found that hate against religious minorities—especially Ahmadis, Christians, and Hindus—follows a predictable pattern, rooted in Pakistan’s socio-political order. Calls for interfaith tolerance or minority rights are not just opposed but framed as threats to Pakistan’s Islamic identity, triggering coordinated backlash that escalates into real-world violence. Blasphemy accusations become strategic tools, enabling extremist factions to incite hostility while positioning themselves as defenders of Islam, facing little legal action or even quiet endorsement.