Faith Under Fire: Online Hostility Toward Religious Minorities in Pakistan's Digital News Spaces

ABSTRACT Social media platforms have emerged as critical spaces for public discourse in Pakistan, yet they also amplify hate speech against religious minorities, notably Ahmadis, Christians and Hindus. This study examines the construction of hate speech in user comments on Facebook and YouTube news reports related to attacks on these communities. Using qualitative content analysis, we examined 20,205 comments posted under the news posts of major national and international Urdu‐language broadcasters between December 2020 and May 2024. The analysis reveals six predominant themes—religious justifications (7850, 38.9%), blasphemy allegations (4050, 20%), calls for violence (1620, 8%), dehumanization (2430, 12%), nationalist hate (3240, 16%), and rare supportive (1015, 5%). Emotional tones range from anger and hostility (8425, 41.7%), joy in violence (7455, 36.9%), fear and insecurity (1620, 8%), resentment (1015, 5%), sarcasm (1015, 5%) to occasional sympathy (675, 3.3%). These findings show how hate speech connects religious extremism, blasphemy laws and nationalism to legitimise exclusion and violence, often overshadowing tolerance. This research enhances our understanding of digital hate within legal and cultural contexts, providing insights into the performative power of online discourse and its implications for moderation, policy and counter‐extremism. It emphasises the urgent need for culturally sensitive approaches to mitigate online hate and foster digital inclusivity in polarised societies.