The viral hate machine

In a similar but unrelated event, a mosque in Sydney’s west was last week targeted by social media comments calling for a repeat of the 2019 Christchurch shootings. Both incidents bring to the fore the dangers of the rapid spread of online abuse.

Recent investigations by ProPublica and FRONTLINE have linked 35 crimes (including the Christchurch shootings) to Terrorgram, a Telegram-based hate network used by white supremacists worldwide to disseminate hateful content and promote violence. Terrorgram has been disrupted by recent arrests and Telegram’s moderation reforms, but experts warn that users may migrate to other platforms.

There is a broader cause for concern with the content oversight of social media platforms. In the months after Elon Musk’s acquisition of X (formerly Twitter), the relaxing of content moderation rules led to a 50% increase in hate speech. Likewise, Meta’s turnaround on “free expression” is expected to enable an annual surge of nearly 277 million instances of hate speech and other harmful content on their platforms.

Since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, real-life and online antisemitic incidents have increased fivefold across Australia, while anti-Muslim hate more than doubled, predominantly targeting Muslim women.

Professor Jorg Matthes from the University of Vienna identifies three key processes that make combating online hate difficult: biased perception, where perpetrators see their actions as normal; moral disengagement, where they rationalise their behaviour “pointing to a greater moral purpose” or framing the targets as deserving the hate; and political polarisation, which reduces the effectiveness of content moderation and digital literacy trainings.

The Australian government’s Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2025 introduced mandatory minimum sentences for hate crimes but sparked criticism from crossbench MPs and legal experts, who argued that the rushed legislative process could lead to serious injustices, particularly for vulnerable groups. While 70% of Australians refrain from reporting online hate because they don’t think anything will change, and US and German citizens oppose severe sanctions (permanent bans, job loss, prison sentences) targeted at the sender, there is support for stronger regulation and action targeted at the message (post deletion).

Combating digital hate requires a multifaceted approach that includes an understanding of the perpetrators' psychological and social motivations, enhanced content moderation balanced with freedom of expression, and better cooperation between tech companies and transparent law enforcement.