Briefings
OHPI briefings provide quick responses to breaking issues, or short but detailed explanations on focused topics. Our briefings are original OHPI content originally published on this site.
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Report YouTube video “Noonga Talk”
“Noonga Talk” is a racist YouTube video promoting hateful stereotypes of Aboriginal Australians. It was uploaded on July 5, 2009 and has been viewed 3,720 times. The video makes a thin pretence at humour but given its racist premise is insulting and offensive to the Australian Aboriginal community. The stereotypes promoted by the video include…
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Cyberbullying: Tips and tools to tackle it
Here’s an emotional account by the father of a Melbourne teenager who committed suicide last year after being relentlessly cyberbullied. A few things that he said resonated with us: Why asking teenagers to not use electronic devices does not address the problem. “It’s like a woman saying, ‘I want to dress in a certain way’ and people…
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“Waleed Aly is an Islamic Turd”- Page Removed
One of the pages reported to FightAgainstHate.com was a racist public Facebook group called “Waleed Aly is an Islamic Turd ” (ID #97352561933890) The page has 462 members. OHPI reported the page and has been monitoring it for some time and we are pleased to say that Facebook has now removed it. In this briefing we will…
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ISIS Terror Hacking
The Islamic State Hacking Division published the names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers and passwords from 1400 people from around the world. The list includes eight Australians who work for the Government including: a Victorian MP, a NSW Health Department worker and Australian Defence Officials. The release of information came with a message saying, “We are…
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“Virality on the Internet” and OHPI
In a recent article, Reddit moderators talk about the challenges of moderating the online discussion platform. A few things the article highlights are: The company is bound by US laws, which are clearly on the side of unfettered free speech regardless of context. Other countries take on a more nuanced view of things. We have…
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External Resources on Cyberbullying
A cyber bully is a person who bullies another using electronic technology. Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using, such avenues as email, chat rooms, social network sites and apps, among others. Cyberbullying is often discussed as a particular problem for children, especially teenagers, however we believe that anyone can be cyberbullied, regardless of their…
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Report the “Stop the Straight Hate” Page
This briefing looks at the homophobic Facebook page “Stop the Straight Hate” (ID# 716487785164679). The page was started on July 4, 2015 and has garnered 425 likes. It was started soon after the US Supreme Court ruling on June 26, 2015 that legalised same-sex marriage in the US. Given the media debate it has generated…
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The danger of the Australian Far-Right
“Australia officially now has a political party modelled on the far-right wing movements in Europe”. That’s the opening of an article in the Sydney Morning Herald last Sunday. The far-right in Australia, however, has a twist. There are the overt neo-Nazis, and the movement is supported by far-right groups from overseas like Greece’s Golden Dawn,…
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How to respond to online racism
In today’s The Conversation (a platform for academics to share research on issues of public interest) psychologists Emma Thomas and Anne Pedersen, discuss how should we, as bystanders, respond to racist behaviour. (Both Thomas and Pedersen teach psychology at the Murdoch University). Their article uses the context of the booing of Adam Goodes to discuss why responding…
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Report “Adam Goodes for the Flog of the Year” Page
The controversy around the persistent booing of Adam Goodes has dominated the AFL championship this year. Naturally, this is reflected on social media where we can see Facebook pages both supporting Adam Goodes and vilifying him. In this briefing, we examine some of the arguments used by supporters of anti-Adam Goodes pages to justify their…