Concerns over the risks posed by social media are a regular topic of conversation, especially for young people who are often stereotyped as being more at risk in such contexts. This is demonstrated in the Australian government’s recent proposals to ban under-16s from using social media, something also being mooted by current British Technology secretary as part of next year’s Online Safety Act.
Such anxieties are often heightened when it comes to specific groups such as young Muslims. A report in 2021 about anti-Muslim hatred by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief found that harmful stereotypes and damaging narratives about Islam and Muslims are widely shared on digital media. Likewise, the inquiry into Islamophobia in Scotland found that 83 per cent of Muslims felt that social media helps to promote Islamophobia.
In our new research, we found there is a general lack of trust in the media with its being seen to present negative and unsympathetic representations of Muslims, especially associated with crime and terrorism. Social media was a key topic of conversation for young Muslims.
Social media paradox
Young Muslims are concerned about engaging with racist and Islamophobic rhetoric, and what they see as bias against Muslim people in the reporting of global conflicts, particularly in the mainstream media and its reporting of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Many turn away from such sources, and towards social media. Aware of the potential risks, many young Muslims feel this context enables them to engage with issues more selectively, acting as a space of both visibility and risk. One young Muslim woman, Elena, explained: “There’s a lot of Islamophobia on social media. I’ve seen a video of people ripping up the Quran.” In this context, the person showing Elena the video “was also Muslim”, and while she saw the importance of documenting and sharing incidents of Islamophobia, this could also be challenging: “[When you watch it], you do feel attacked almost.”
Many young Muslims avoid engaging with mainstream media as they have become highly sensitised to the ways in which their religious faith is frequently misrepresented. While some turn to outlets such as Al Jazeera, Middle Eastern Eye – which one participant said offered “a different perspective” – many also seek out information on Instagram, Twitter and Reddit. As one young man explained:
“I get my news through [Twitter & Reddit] mostly. It’s mostly unfiltered there. It’s raw information. So I can make my opinion about it there and then. But when it’s from the media, there’s a certain bias.”
On the one hand, different social media platforms provide a sense of connection for young Muslims. They look for alternative news sources and opportunities to learn while also finding new opportunities to represent their religious faith and identity by engaging with young Muslim vloggers. On the other hand, there are risks associated with being exposed to Islamophobia, racism and misinformation, illustrating the paradox of social media for young Muslims.
Rather than seeing social media as a context that young people should be banned from or have restricted access to, young Muslims are well equipped to navigate harmful content and misinformation.
Digital entrepreneurs
Young Muslims are experienced interpreters of digital media and are eager to be recognised as digital entrepreneurs, rather than as passive victims. This also links to a general critique of mainstream politics that many young people advance, in contrast with the excitement felt by many about the Scottish Independence movement at the time of our last study. Instead of aspiring to mainstream political roles, many young Muslims are active in local community and charity work, alongside Palestine solidarity activism, and are inspired by online influencers who connect these issues and speak to their daily lives.
Social media is often referred to as being less biased than more mainstream sources with independent vloggers providing unique insights into lived experiences. Concerning the situation in Gaza, many young Muslims regard such sources as more informative and interesting compared to mainstream news coverage. As one of our participants noted:
“I normally follow verified pages and get my information from there, or I tend to get information from people who are actually living in the issue that they’re facing. So there’s a lot of Palestinian content creators at the moment, and they tend to be speaking up quite along the issue, and I just tend to see what they’re saying and what their views are, and what’s going on.”
Despite crediting social media as being a key resource for news and opinions, young Muslims also voice concern. Many question the trustworthiness of news and sources on social media platforms. The fact that young people have grown up with social media makes them particularly well equipped to recognise misinformation, as one participant explained: “The younger generations are more vigilant, or more able to recognise what’s true and what’s not, especially on social media because we’ve been exposed to it since a young age”.
In a context where young Muslims have been heavily policed and surveilled if they engage in political activity – particularly through the government Prevent programme – it is important to think carefully about the impact that a social media ban might have on such communities. Engaging young people in building skills to navigate online life, educating them about this, and understanding the complex ways they interpret and participate in these spaces would be a better start for tackling online Islamophobia and racism.
Peter Hopkins is a Professor of Social Geography at Newcastle University.
Everyday Islamophobia by Peter Hopkins will publish in September 2025.
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