Racist US commentator Laura Loomer, known for anti-India and anti-Hindu posts, invited as a speaker at India Today Conclave 2026

Controversial American far-right commentator Laura Loomer has reportedly been invited to speak at the India Today Conclave 2026, triggering sharp criticism on social media due to her long record of racist remarks targeting Indians and Indian-origin individuals.

Taking to X, Loomer stated that she is headed to India to speak at the India Today Conclave 2026.

Loomer has previously drawn widespread backlash for making racist attacks against Indians and attacking Indian-American technologist Sriram Krishnan after he was appointed Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

In a social media tirade, Loomer described Indians as “third-world invaders” and questioned their place in the United States, asserting that the country was built by “white Europeans.” She also mocked India’s sanitation practices while responding to critics online.

Her rhetoric has frequently targeted prominent figures of Indian origin. In September 2024, Loomer sparked outrage after posting a derogatory “curry” jibe aimed at former US Vice President Kamala Harris, mocking her Indian heritage in a comment that drew widespread condemnation across political circles.

Beyond her anti-India remarks, Loomer has built a reputation for promoting controversial and widely debunked claims. She has pushed conspiracy theories around the September 11 attacks, spread misinformation about the COVID-19pandemic, and amplified narratives associated with the QAnon movement. Her rhetoric has often drawn criticism even within the Republican Party, with Republican Senator Thom Tillis once describing her as a “crazy conspiracy theorist.”

Social media backlash

The reported invitation of Laura Loomer to the India Today Conclave triggered an immediate backlash on X, with several users circulating screenshots of Loomer’s past posts targeting India and Indians with racist language.

Users shared a collage of Loomer’s posts in which she mocked Indian sanitation practices, called Indians “third-world invaders,” and made derogatory remarks about the country’s infrastructure and intelligence levels.

In one of the widely shared posts, she questioned why people in India “still [defecate] in the water they bathe and drink from,” while another post mocked Indian immigrants as so-called “high-skilled” workers who supposedly come from a country without basic facilities.

Other screenshots highlighted Loomer claiming that “our country was built by white Europeans, not third-world invaders from India,” along with remarks ridiculing India’s average, legitimising that Indians drink from the same water they bathe in. Social media users said these posts demonstrate a pattern of openly racist rhetoric against Indians.

Questions are being raised now on why a leading Indian media platform would provide a stage to someone who has repeatedly insulted India and its people. Several commentators described the invitation as “astonishing” and “self-defeating,” arguing that platforming a figure with a documented history of anti-India remarks risks legitimising such rhetoric rather than challenging it.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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