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What we learnt last week about social media and hate

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A Bondi massacre victim who was shot in the head and a Jewish federal Labor MP were two witnesses who told the commission last week about how much hatred they receive via social media.

Last week was the start of the hearing block that is probing the role social media has in fuelling antisemitism, with Jewish Australians detailing the attacks they have faced online.

We also heard that Elon Musk’s X platform fought to keep gruesome content relating to the Bondi massacre online, arguing it was no more graphic than a “gore movie”.

Josh Burns, who is the federal member for Macnamara, told the commission that he had no faith in social media platforms taking action to stop hate against Jews. He detailed antisemitic attacks levelled at him, his staff and his partner, Victorian MP Georgie Purcell.

Bondi massacre survivor Arsen Ostrovsky also told the commission he had been called a crisis actor and an agent of Israel. His phone lit up with online attacks as he was in hospital being prepped for surgery.

Royal commissioner Virginia Bell highlighted one comment made on Facebook about special envoy to combat antisemitism Jillian Segal (“cockroach, needs to be sprayed”) noting that remark could be considered violent.