Sriram Krishnan outrage: Groypers and their issue with Indian Americans

When Sriram Krishnan, a celebrated Indian American entrepreneur and tech innovator, was appointed Senior Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence by President-elect Donald Trump in December 2024, the announcement should have been a landmark moment. It showcased how

Indian Americans

are at the forefront of technological innovation and public service. Instead, it became another flashpoint for far-right extremists, particularly the

Groypers

, and provocateurs like

Laura Loomer

, who seized the opportunity to stoke racial and cultural division.
Loomer, infamous for her inflammatory rhetoric, accused Krishnan and other Indian Americans of “stealing jobs” and being part of an alleged immigrant takeover, echoing the anti-immigrant dog whistles that Groypers amplify. Her statements, filled with

xenophobia

and paranoia, found fertile ground within the Groyper community, a loosely organized collective of far-right agitators who thrive on internet disruption.

Who Are the Groypers?

The Groypers are not just another group of internet trolls. Led by figures like Nicholas Fuentes, they’ve cultivated an online subculture that uses humor, memes, and irony to propagate deeply reactionary ideologies. Their symbol—a variation of the once-benign Pepe the Frog meme—has become a twisted emblem of

white nationalism

, anti-immigrant sentiment, and a rejection of modern multiculturalism.
Unlike the broader, disorganized alt-right, Groypers are strategic. They target mainstream conservatives, accusing them of being too moderate, while positioning themselves as the true guardians of “America First” values. Public figures like Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro have been frequent targets of their confrontational tactics, which involve disrupting events with provocative, racially charged questions designed to embarrass the speaker and create viral moments.

Why Indian Americans?

Indian Americans like Krishnan have become particular targets because they symbolize the success of a community that Groypers see as outsiders. Their achievements in tech, medicine, and academia are reframed in Groyper rhetoric as threats, perpetuating the baseless claim that immigrants are displacing “real Americans.” Krishnan’s appointment was met with the same xenophobic attacks Groypers have weaponized in the past, amplified by social media platforms where their followers spread memes mocking Indian culture and accusing high-skilled immigrants of undermining American values.
This isn’t just casual racism. It’s a calculated effort to delegitimize contributions from immigrant communities while reinforcing the Groypers’ vision of a homogeneous, exclusionary America.

A Movement Cloaked in Irony

What makes the Groypers particularly insidious is their ability to operate in the murky space between humor and hate. They deploy memes and jokes that, on the surface, seem absurd or satirical. But beneath the irony lies a clear agenda: to normalize bigotry and recruit disaffected young people who might initially laugh at the joke but later embrace the ideology.
Their tactics are optimized for the internet age. A mocking meme about Krishnan might start as a joke in a fringe forum but can quickly go viral, spreading their toxic narratives to a wider audience. This blend of humor and hate makes it difficult to challenge them directly—call them out, and they’ll dismiss you as humorless or overly sensitive. Ignore them, and their ideas take root.

The Broader Implications

The Groypers represent more than an internet nuisance. They highlight the radicalization pipeline that thrives in the unregulated spaces of the digital world. A teenager scrolling through edgy memes might laugh at their surface-level absurdity but find themselves drawn deeper into a community where those “jokes” are gateways to extremist beliefs.
Krishnan’s appointment—and the vitriol it sparked—underscores the stakes of this battle. The success of Indian Americans and other immigrant communities is a testament to the strength of a diverse and inclusive society. The Groypers see this success as a threat, and their attacks are an attempt to undermine it.