Opinion Articles
OHPI regularly contributes to the media, both as experts (the our news section), and through opinion articles published in the mainstream press and the blogosphere. These are some the publications relevant to OHPI’s mission that have been written by our staff, volunteers, advisers and partner organisations.
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Addressing Hate and Disinformation
On August 11th 2025 our CEO, Dr Andre Oboler, presented on a panel at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, on the topics of “Positives and Negatives of Modern Communications: Addressing Disinformation and Related Social Tensions”. Panel Description: Social media is revolutionizing community relations, including within and among religious communities. This session…
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Ethical issues for Artificial Intelligence
Dr Andre Oboler’s presentation at a panel for the G20 Interfaith Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, on the topics of “Ethical issues for Artificial Intelligence”.
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Reflections on reviewing social media comments from the referendum
By Matthew Desmond Smith I joined the team at the Online Hate Prevention Institute in January to work on a project investigating online racism and disinformation from the referendum on The Voice. This article shared my initial experience of this ongoing project and the data we saw. The project saw a team of 12 of…
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Stopping Nazism glorification
Instead of focusing on a specific symbol, we need a federal ban on the promotion of Nazism and its ideology, including the use of flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and gestures. Saturday’s horrific display of black-clad neo-Nazis throwing Hitler salutes on the steps of the Victorian Parliament has left the Jewish community in shock. We knew…
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Tackling our extremism problem
The sight on the steps of the Victorian Parliament on Saturday, black clad neo-Nazis throwing Hitler salutes over and over for half an hour, as Victoria Police stop by protecting them from on lookers, has shocked the Jewish community. Sometimes it is better to act quietly, to avoid giving the Nazis the attention they crave…
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Today’s News: “Facebook Bad”
There is a tug of war going on within Facebook as they both lead the way in mitigation efforts, and persist with a corporate culture that seems to regularly make the wrong call, putting profits before people and undermining their own efforts. We need to support those positive efforts while pushing them to address the…
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Mayor Jack Dempsey on online hate
We welcome Mayor Dempsey’s call for Federal and State Governments to “catch up with the modern world and make laws that keep people safe online”.
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To tackle Nazi we must tackle incitement
The Australian government must not only ban far-right groups, but also criminalise speech that incites violence in the name of ideological or religious extremism.
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Tackling Holocaust denial and distortion will be a challenge for Facebook
By Dr Andre Oboler Having banned Holocaust denial and distortion last week, Facebook now faces the challenge of applying that policy and cleaning up over sixteen years of hate. The challenge comes as Facebook faces record levels of user engagement and record levels of online hate. I raised the alarm that antisemitism in social media…
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Trolling: the Modern-Day Coliseum
Aren’t you told you deserve to be urinated on and sexually abused every morning with your double-shot latte? If feminist writers such as Jezebel’s Lindy West are to be believed, trolling has become a “common part” of journalism practice and a frequently overlooked workplace issue. Trolling has cemented itself as an integral part of the…