This report examines responses on Facebook to a post by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) sharing an article about the firebombing of four Hatzalah ambulances in Golders Green, London, on March 23, 2026. The analysis reveals that around half the comments and more than half the reactions to the post were antisemitic. This reflects a concerning level of online antisemitism not only seen by Australians, but shared by them. This is particularly worrying as it occurs just a few months after the Bondi massacre, and while a Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is underway.

Key findings

The report notes that the London Metropolitan Police is investigating the attack as an antisemitic hate crime, and how an Islamist group linked to the Iranian regime, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), has claimed responsibility for the attack, though this is still being verified. We discuss the possibility that the attack is part of an Iranian Hybrid Warfare strategy, an idea raised by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), which we find likely. We add that this strategy looks to go beyond the physical attack, and includes an information warfare element based on disinformation that manipulates online discourse to exacerbate the impact on the Jewish communities while reducing public empathy. This strategy also undermines government and police action against antisemitism. 

The analysis of the AFR Facebook post reporting the attack revealed an alarming public response with derisive laughter being the main “reaction”. By March 28 this accounted for  71% of the over 5,500 reactions to the post. This further demonstrates the normalisation of antisemitism in Australian society.

An analysis of 524 comments found 261 were antisemitic. Most were “atrocity-related” and the dominant sub-category was Atrocity Distortion (68.6% of the antisemitic content). 

• The atrocity distortion content primarily promoted the attack as a “false flag” and inverted the roles of victim and perpetrator by claiming Israel or Mossad were responsible for the attack (88.3% of the distortion content) and carried it out to frame Iran, either to garner sympathy for the US-Israel attack on Iran, or draw the UK into conflict with Iran. 

• A further 12.8% of the atrocity distortion content blames the Jews for the attack on the Jewish charity or claimed it was staged, for example, that it was undertaken as an insurance job.  

Other significant categories of antisemitism included:

• Atrocity Denial (13.0%): Comments dismissing the AFR article as “fake news” or propaganda dictated by Mossad.
• Traditional Antisemitism (10.3%): Comments using classic tropes, such as accusing Jews of controlling societal institutions or the media, or of killing Jesus. 

Atrocity Justification: Claims that rationalized the attack as “payback” for Israel’s actions, holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel.

Recommendations

• Meta should reverse its 2025 decision that scaled back automated trust and safety efforts for “less serious” content violations such as hate speech.
• Australia should require reasonable efforts be made to reduce online hate speech, including in comments, as part of its Basic Online Safety Expectations for social media platforms.
• Media and government staff tasked with moderating social media comments should turn off commenting when they are unable to properly moderate the incoming comments. 
• Staff responsible for moderation should be sufficiently trained in antisemitism to recognise it and feel empowered enough to act to remove it. Those managing social media posts should be confident that taking action to remove antisemitism and other forms of racism and hate will be supported by their management.
• A counter-strategy must be developed to address the efforts to destabilise Australian and Western democracies through the sort of disinformation and inversion presented in this report. This strategy may involve public education, stronger transparency expectations on platforms, and stronger requirements to address disinformation.

Media coverages of this report

March 30 2026. J-wire: Report warns of coordinated disinformation after London attack on Jewish ambulances