Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued a stern warning to social media users and platforms, after misinformation spread about the identity of the Bondi Junction stabber and angry messages sparked riots when a bishop was stabbed.
Six people were fatally stabbed during a shooting at the Westfield shopping center in Sydney’s east on Saturday, which ended only when a brave police officer shot dead attacker Joel Cauchi.
Distressing images quickly spread across social media platforms, namely X and Facebook, sparking online witch hunts in which an innocent person was falsely named as the perpetrator.
Beyond that, graphic and violent images appeared in the news and on “For You” pages around the world, prompting an intervention from the government’s e-security commissioner.
Similarly, footage of a 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a live-streamed sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakely went viral, with voice notes and WhatsApp messages inflaming the unrest. .
In the days after the tragedy and again on Friday, Albanese criticized social media platforms for not acting faster to protect users.
Six people were fatally stabbed during a rampage inside Westfield in Sydney’s east on Saturday, which ended only when a brave police officer shot dead attacker Joel Cauchi.
Similarly, images of a 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a live-streamed sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church went viral.
‘It should not be necessary for the eSafety commissioner to intervene to direct companies, in this case X and [Facebook owner] “Goal, to remove violent videos that show people who have lost their lives as a result of what happened with the perpetrator committing that atrocity on Saturday,” he said.
“Social networks turn us all into content editors, we all have a responsibility.”
The Prime Minister warned that he is “prepared to take all necessary measures to put these companies in order”.
“We have made it very clear because of the damage that inaction can have.”
Albanese said viewers who took the video, and others who later received it, should have sent it to police to assist in the investigation, rather than posting it online.
‘I also point out what the police pointed out last Saturday, which is that people who had video footage from last Saturday, their first thought should not have been to post it online.
‘Your first thought should have been to send him to the police to assist in their investigations. We have all done it, because social networks turn us all into content editors, we all have a responsibility.”
Albanese said social media companies needed to “start understanding the social responsibility they have towards others as well, because that’s where they get their social license from.”
Earlier in the week, the Prime Minister described social media as a “scourge in many ways”.
The Prime Minister has no qualms about criticizing social media platforms and warned that he is “prepared to take all necessary measures to bring these companies into line.”
Shoppers sign a book of condolence during the reopening of the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center on April 19.
“The lack of responsibility, it must be said, also of some of the social media operators that we know, in allowing content to circulate that is clearly disinformation.”
He criticized the Seven Network for collecting misinformation, such as that of the innocent university student who was wrongly identified as the perpetrator of the crime, and publishing it in the news.
‘How is it possible that a major media outlet published that?’ he said.
The student has a common Jewish surname and was the target of anti-Semitic pages on social media.
Albanese said traditional media also had a responsibility to be accurate and fair.
The prime minister has made no secret of his dislike of social media.
Mourners were welcomed back to Westfield Bondi Junction on Thursday to mourn, before all stores officially reopened on Friday.
During a wide-ranging interview with former Melbourne talk show host Neil Mitchell in 2023, he was asked a hypothetical question about what he would do if he became dictator.
He said banning social media “would be helpful.”
‘Keyboard warriors who can say anything anonymously and without any fear; The kind of things they would never tell you face to face, they can just state it as fact and that worries me,” he said.
“What this does, combined with the pressure on modern journalists, is that they are really obsessed with the short-term cycle.”
Albanese was quick to state that he was not, in fact, “a supporter of dictatorships.”
According to its latest annual report, the eSafety Commissioner and the Australian Communications and Media Authority employ almost 500 public servants.
The eSafety Commissioner praises itself as the “first government agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online.”
It is led by Twitter’s former head of Public Policy for Australia and Southeast Asia, Julie Inman-Grant, who receives an annual salary of almost $445,000.
Albanese said part of his government’s strong action includes quadrupling funding for the eSafety commissioner.