SOCIAL MEDIA’S TRAFFIC IN HATE
Experts warn tech giants let children get hooked on this extremist content
Tech giants are raking in huge profits despite displaying violent extremist content that experts warn is radicalising primary school children.
Online safety experts are urgently calling on the Albanese Government to focus on youth radicalisation, claiming there was strong evidence to show social media and tech giants were allowing extremist content to be shown to children.
It comes as disturbing audio praising a Sydney teen’s stabbing frenzy on Assyrian priest Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and saying he “deserves to get slaughtered” was posted on Instagram.
International Islamist radicals also posted praise of the attack on X.
Peta Lowe, the former director of Countering Violent Extremism for Juvenile Justice NSW, said there are confronting parallels between the teenager who stabbed Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Melbourne Islamic State recruit Jake Bilardi.
Bilardi was a Melbourne teen who grew up in the suburbs with his older siblings after losing their mother to cancer.
He became radicalised by researching online before going to Iraq to join ISIS, where he was killed in a suicide bomb attack.
“This young person is not the first who is involved in a similar incident, Jake Bilardi was in a very similar situation, his family had no idea, it was all in an online environment,” she said.
“We know in Australia, it starts quite broadly on social media on Facebook, Instagram, a lot of those very popular channels.
“They can then be added to private channels like Whats App groups … then they go down a rabbit hole where there are sermons and propaganda.”
She said while Islamic radicals preferred WhatsApp, right wing extremists used 8Chan and 4Chan.
Her comments come amid growing reports of radical sermons being delivered at Sydney mosques in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and other being posted on YouTube.
Muslim cleric Abu Ousayd, better known as Wissam Haddad, delivered a sermon about killing Jews but police dropped their investigation into the preacher despite comments including calling on people to spit on Israel so “Jews would drown”.
Mr Ousayd has also given sermons calling for the establishment of a Muslim army to fight Western nations.
‘‘ When they turn such a huge profit … they have a responsibility to work as hard as they can (to take this down) Peta Lowe
Online expert
The Telegraph previously revealed that Meta-owned Instagram has refused to take down anti-Semitic and antigay material posted by Mr Ousayd.
Another cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Zoud, told Lakemba’s As-Sunnah mosque that Jews “loved to shed blood” and raised their children on “violence, terrorism and killing”.
Ms Lowe said social media platforms had a “huge role” to play in the moderation of “extremist content”.
“There are the obvious issues around how do you find this content? Unless it’s flagged or use words that are flagged … many extremist groups get around that,” she said.
“It’s very challenging but they do have a responsibility since they monetise so much of their content, the profit should go back to ensuring safety on their platform.
“When they turn such a huge profit off these things they have a responsibility to work as hard as they can (to take this down).”
Ms Lowe, who has just returned from Kenya, said the African nation was doing better than Australia on dealing with radicalisation.
“Kenya is taking it so seriously they’ve made it part of their child protection legislation … that it is now a risk of harm to expose children to violent extremist material or propaganda … if we are serious, we keep talking about it, ASIO, police, where is the proof they are doing it?” she said.
“That means all the Directorate of Children Services staff are being trained (in radicalisation prevention). It’s now their core business, just as being trained in neglect and child abuse is. They are taking a whole-of-society approach.”
Online Hate Prevention Institute chief executive Andre Oboler said mainstream social media platforms were being used to lure people in.
“In light of the Middle East conflict, we’ve seen a shift in violent extremism. We’ve been monitoring both antiSemitism and Islamophobia and I have seen a shift from general incitement like: ‘Kill the Jews’ and now it’s being pushed to radical ideology so it will have symbolism of neoNazis, symbolism of Hamas,” he said.
“It shows people are latching onto an ideology which allows them to search for more content and then find more content. Once people find a way in, it’s very easy to fall down the rabbit hole.”
Mr Oboler said he had seen posts on 4Chan glorifying Brenton Tarrant, the Australian responsible for the Christchurch mosque shootings.
“There is a glorification of those who have carried out violent extremism,” he said.
“I was looking at data from the Bondi Junction attack, on 4Chan I have a copy of a comment saying: ‘Free Brenton Tarrant’.”
Meta declined to comment. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil was contacted for a comment.