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IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism Examples
Misinformation and disinformation are a significant harm to society. When used in the context of COVID-19 it leads to vaccine hesitancy, or to be blunt, to people acting in ways that put their life and those of others around them at risk. The danger of misinformation / disinformation is not new. When used to target…
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Guilty Plea to Poway Terrorist Attack
On Friday John T. Earnest, the terrorist responsible for the 2019 attack on the Poway Synagogue in California, pled guilty to 113 Federal Hate Crimes. The announcement from the United States Department of Justice outlines the details of the attack, including the manifesto Earnest posted online just prior to the attack. The Online Hate Prevention…
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Report of the Inquiry into anti-vilification protections
The Online Hate Prevention Institute warmly welcomes the report of the Inquiry into anti-vilification protections which was tabled today in the Victorian Parliament. The Inquiry undertook extensive consultation. Committee members were deeply engaged and worked in a spirit of cooperation to ensure the best possible outcome could be reached for the Victorian community. The report…
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Italian Government Presentation on Antisemitism 2.0
Our CEO, Dr Andre Oboler, presented to the Italian Government’s conference on “Online Antisemitism and Hate Conspiracy in Internet Time” on November 18th. The presentation explains antisemitism 2.0 as it was, and where it is now in 2020. The conference by co-organised by Italy’s National Coordinator for the Fight Against Antisemitism, the National Office Against…
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Banning QAnon
The Online Hate Prevention Institute welcomes Facebook’s move to ban QAnon. The QAnon movement, which started on 4chan and 8chan (see our Halle report for more on them), has been rapidly absorbing and spreading conspiracy theories including those based on the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and more recently those based on conspiracy…
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Attacking politicians and antisemitism
Graffiti on the road in Donvale (Victoria, Australia) this morning called for Victorian Premier Dan Andrews to be “stopped”. The brief message, presumably opposing the extension of the current lockdown to tackle COVID-19, included antisemitic themes. The Star of David, a Jewish symbol, in the middle of “Dan” suggests that Dan Andrews (who is not…
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“I’m not antisemitic but…”
There is a problem of structural racism within some social justice movements. Structural racism is where the practices, culture and norms act to reinforce and perpetuate inequity. One of the ways this occurs is when exceptions are made to the idea that fundamental human rights apply equally to all people at all times. For example, when…
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Why Facebook Needs to Adopt the IHRA Definition
The Online Hate Prevention Institute, together with over 120 other organisations, has called on Facebook to adopt the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. Further to this call, below is an op-ed from our CEO, Dr Andre Oboler, which looks at why Facebook needs the definition if it is to close the gaps in its understanding…
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Antisemitism in the Midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic
As news of COVID-19 broke, there was a high level of concern expressed by Jewish organisations around the world that antisemitism would likely spike as a result. This concern was based on past experience in which, at a time of crisis, antisemites regularly seek to blames Jews for the latest tragedy and at times this…
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BLM and Online Hate
The Black Lives Matter protests around the world have been the topic of social media, mainstream media and in person conversations around the Australia and the world. Over the weekend we published an article on the Australian Black Lives Matter rallies. Our article supported anti-racism activism, and in particular action on systemic and institutional racism…