A well-organized social media campaign that started on the anonymous message board 4chan disrupted the plans of Indian H-1B visa holders who were trying to return to the United States.
The “clog the toilet” campaign comes in response to President Donald Trump's recent announcement that a $100,000 fee will be applied for new H-1B visa applications.
The campaign has already affected travel costs and availability on important India–US routes, causing significant confusion and anxiety among Indian professionals, even though the White House later clarified that the charge would be restricted to new applicants and not to current H-1B holders.
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Clog the toilet campaign: what is it?
Racially motivated far-right users on 4chan and other forums, such as Telegram, organised the campaign, which urged participants to hold tickets on major India-US routes on airline websites and booking sites — without finishing the transaction.
{{/usCountry}}Racially motivated far-right users on 4chan and other forums, such as Telegram, organised the campaign, which urged participants to hold tickets on major India-US routes on airline websites and booking sites — without finishing the transaction.
{{/usCountry}}This action temporarily blocked a huge number of seats, rendering them unavailable to genuine travelers and driving up ticket costs owing to perceived scarcity.
A number of 4chan users also complained about Air India's website being slowed down and seats being held up. However, a representative for Air India told AFP that there were no interruptions on the site and that everything was running well.
On 4chan, a post that was widely circulated said, “Indians are just waking up after the H-1B news. Want to keep them in India? Clog the flight reservation system.”
The trolling was a bid to “cause panic among H-1B visa holders,” Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told AFP.
White House reacts
The White House released a statement that sought to clarify any doubt as the campaign gained momentum. “Those who already hold H-1B visas and are currently outside of the country right now will NOT be charged $100,000 to re-enter,” said Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X. “This applies only to new visas, not renewals, and not current visa holders.”
However, a lot of Indian tourists had already experienced high airfares, difficulty reserving seats, and mental stress as a result of the abrupt suspension.
Travel agencies and customers have observed odd cost trends and seat availability, particularly on direct India–US flights, despite the fact that airlines have not formally acknowledged the manipulation of booking systems.