Publications
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Facebook to add a new “dislike” button
Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook will soon be adding a dislike button feature to its system. We welcome the addition of a dislike button which users have been calling for over many years. At the same time we believe there were good reasons to not have such a feature and that it’s addition poses risks…
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Report Homophobic Facebook page “No to Gay “Marriage”
This briefing highlights the homophobic Facebook page No to Gay Marriage (ID 657612940934589) which has been online since July 1, 2013 and has 1,537 supporters. Even though the page name suggests that it stands against gay marriage, it mainly promotes homophobia. In its About page, it states: “Homosexuality is a behavior, not an identity. There is…
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Where do trolls come from and how do we stop their cyberbullying?
The Online Hate Prevention Institute has been fielding a number of media questions about online trolling and abuse in recent days. We’ve discussed the issue on radio this week with 3AW’s Tom Elliott and K-Rock’s Hunter McLeod. There are number of types of online trolling we deal with at the Online Hate Prevention Institute and…
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Report “The Holocaust Fraud Exposed” YouTube video
This briefing highlights the antisemitic video “The Holocaust Fraud Exposed” on YouTube. It was uploaded on March 7, 2014 and has been viewed 15,173 times since. More concerning is the fact that it has received 216 thumbs up as against 25 thumbs down. The video promotes Holocaust denial. It claims that the Holocaust never took…
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Digital Terrorism and Online Hate
On August 23, OHPI attended the annual ADC Gandel Oration. The speaker was Rabbi Abe Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading human rights organisation, who spoke on the topic: “Global Anti-Semitism, Holocaust Denial and the War Against Israel”. You can hear Rabbi Cooper in his own words in a radio…
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Report YouTube video promoting violence against women
This briefing highlights the misogynistic video “Is It Okay To Hit a Woman? YES, If You Support Gender Equality (Ray Rice Elevator Knock Out)” on YouTube. It was uploaded has on September 9, 2014 and has been viewed 261,282 times since. It has also received 5,001 thumbs ups as against 428 thumbs downs. The video…
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The Bendigo Rallies
The UPF rally in Bendigo yesterday (Saturday August 29) was countered by a rally organised by “no room for racism”. Police have stated that both groups were able to be heard and there we no serious incidents and no injuries. If anyone gets to “claim Victory” from the day it is Victoria Police who managed…
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Virginia shooting: Lessons for social media companies
The shooting last night of two journalists in Virginia, US, has again sparked debate about the policies of social media companies. The shooter Vester Lee Flanagan shot the murders and uploaded them on Twitter and Facebook. Twitter suspended his account within 8 minutes of the video being uploaded, and Facebook too removed his profile and…
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Cyberbullying: Not just a teen phenomenon
Recently, the government enacted the “Online Safety of Children’s Act”. However, a recent article in the Women’s Weekly exposes how vulnerable even adults are to cyberbullying. Women, in particular, are vulnerable to harassment that is sexual in nature (revenge porn, malicious impersonation, sexual threats and more). The article shares some excellent tips on online safety…
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Report “Diggers are Dole Bludgers” Phoenix page
In April this year, OHPI succeeded in getting a page spreading hate against Australian military veterans “Diggers are Dole Bludgers” (ID# 1583334281945743) removed. Another page was created (ID# 1396071514053238) with the same name soon after. We refer to such pages as Pheonix pages. They reappear with the same name as the previous page and with…