The Sydney Morning Herald, Age, AFR, 30 June 2026
‘Biggest arena of antisemitism’: Jewish MP Josh Burns slams social media companies
By Alexandra Smith
From The Sydney Morning Herald:
Tahli Blicblau, the chief executive of the Dor Foundation, also gave evidence on Tuesday, her second appearance before the commission. She detailed a report her not-for-profit organisation wrote capturing some of the online abuse directed at witnesses after they had appeared at the commission.
Blicblau said witnesses from the first hearing block, which focused on the lived experience of Jewish Australians, had been “subjected to more targeted and abused online, at volume”. One witness was targeted by 225 posts.
Posts, mainly drawn from X and Facebook, called for Jews to be deported as well as sexually degrading abuse and accusations of paedophilia.
“Holocaust glorification, extortion and mockery, including expressions of adoration and support for Hitler; antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories; and accusations witnesses were crisis actors or falsifying their evidence”, she said.
A few of the posts have been removed, but the vast majority are still available online, including one calling for creation of “makeshift concentration camps” to kill witnesses, Blicblau said.
The organisation had also undertaken preliminary work to identify online attacks made since the commission resumed public hearings on Monday, with about 70 posts made in the hours after Monday’s testimonies.