Natalie Barr has lashed out at social media companies for not doing enough to remove graphic content after her son saw horrifying images of recent stabbings.
On Saturday, images of Joel Cauchi, 40, running through Westfield Bondi Junction with a 30cm knife and his bloodied victims circulated on social media.
Just days later, a bishop was stabbed by a suspected terrorist in an incident that was inadvertently broadcast live by the church.
“I don’t understand why they can’t take it down sooner,” Barr enthused Friday.
“My son, who is a young adult, came home and said, ‘Mom, I just saw four people get stabbed today’… that’s the world we live in.”
Barr shares two sons with her husband Andrew: Hunter, 18, and Lachlan, 22.
Natalie Barr (centre) lashed out at social media companies for not doing enough to remove graphic images and videos after her own son saw people being stabbed.
On Saturday, images of Joel Cauchi, 40, running through Westfield Bondi Junction with a 30cm knife and his bloodied victims circulated on social media.
Social media companies are facing increasing criticism for their role in allowing graphic content and misinformation to be shared.
‘Turn it off if you can. Turn it off,” Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said on ABC News on Wednesday.
“I really don’t think social media companies are doing everything they should to support police in their efforts to keep the community calm.”
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant told ABC Radio she would consider legal options against X and Meta, Facebook’s parent company, after issuing takedown notices for extreme material on Tuesday.
Companies have 24 hours to act.
“I wouldn’t say they don’t care,” Grant said, adding that “unfortunately, we’ve seen a decline in trust and security operations across all platforms and across the industry.”
When asked by a listener if he had the power to close within 24 hours. he overcame.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested for what investigators called a religiously motivated terrorist attack on Monday at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, in the city’s west.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with what investigators called a religiously motivated terrorist attack on Monday at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, in the city’s west.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and a priest were hospitalized along with the child.
Videos and photographs of the attack, captured during a live broadcast of the sermon, began to be posted on X, sparking a riot outside the church.
The dramatic events at the church came two days after Cauchi attacked shoppers, mostly women, at the Westfield Bondi Junction centre.
The police shot him dead.
Premier Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns have expressed concern about the role of social media in spreading false information and sowing disunity.