Racism online and in the media harms racialised communities and stokes racial abuse against First Peoples, multicultural and multifaith communities in daily life. Local and global events and days of significance can also fuel racism and vilification in online spaces. Misinformation on international conflicts spread through the media and online can also provoke racism and discrimination locally.[24]
Online racism may look like the following:
- Censorship – racialised communities report having posts criticising colonisation and white supremacy removed or their accounts blocked, while racist posts themselves remain live.[25]
- Misinformation – untrue racist information can spread unchecked on social media in the form of stereotypes, scapegoating and allegations of reverse racism.[26]
- Bullying, hate speech and calls to violence – racist social media content can frighten, intimidate or silence users and incite others to commit violence. Studies have linked racist posts on social media to violence against First Peoples, multicultural and multifaith communities.[27]
Racism online
- 1 in 7 adults report being the target of online hate speech in Australia.[28]
- First Peoples face online hate speech at more than twice the national average.[29]
- Some studies have found that 78% of First Peoples face online hate speech on a weekly basis.[30] Online racism increases during events like the lead up to the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum.[31]
- Fifty-three per cent of young people and migrants to Australia surveyed had seen hate speech online. Muslim respondents face the greatest share of hate speech.[32]
- Of people who reported online hate speech, 58% said it causes negative impacts. These include mental or emotional stress, relationship problems and damage to their reputation.[33]
The media can also contribute to negative stereotypes and racist attitudes, and to increased hate crimes in the community. The media is powerful. It can reinforce current power relations and racial privilege, shaping ideas around ‘who gets to belong’ and the way we view and treat one another.
- A 2021 analysis of Australian media coverage revealed that 57% of opinion pieces and television current affairs segments portrayed race negatively, with Muslim Australians disproportionately negatively depicted.[34]
- First Peoples voices in the media are under-represented, historical and cultural contexts are often overlooked, and reporting often reinforces paternalistic attitudes.[35]
- As a result of the media’s coverage of ‘African gangs’, South Sudanese–Australian young people reported facing more racism on public transport and in public spaces. They also experienced more surveillance by police and from teachers at school.[36]
[24] K Lewis, ‘In times of war, digital activism has power. Here’s how to engage responsibly’, The Conversation, 24 October 2023. https://theconversation.com/in-times-of-war-digital-activism-has-power-…
[25] JG Asare, ‘Social media continues to amplify white supremacy and suppress anti-racism’, Forbes, 8 January 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2021/01/08/social-media-conti…
[26] M Brown, S Elizondo and R Ray, ‘Combating racism on social media: 5 key insights on bystander intervention’, Brookings Institute, 1 December 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/combating-racism-on-social-media-5-k…
[27] K Müller and C Schwarz, ‘Fanning the flames of hate: social media and hate crime’, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2020, 19(4):2131–2167, doi:10.1093/jeea/jvaa045
[28] eSafety Commissioner, Online hate speech: Findings from Australia, New Zealand and Europe, eSafety, Netsafe and UK Safer Internet Centre, 2020. https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/online-hate-speech
[29] eSafety Commissioner, Online hate speech: Findings from Australia, New Zealand and Europe
[30] T Kennedy, Indigenous peoples’ experiences of harmful content on social media, Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2020
[31] J Dunstan and A Yu, ‘Victoria’s Aboriginal treaty body urges Facebook parent company Meta to clamp down on racist abuse, ABC News, 26 May 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-26/aboriginal-treaty-first-peoples-…
[32] eSafety Commissioner, Young people and social cohesion: research into the online experiences of young people to support eSafety programs promoting social cohesion and digital resilience, eSafety Commissioner and Department of Education, Victorian Government, 2016
[33] eSafety Commissioner, Online hate speech: Findings from Australia, New Zealand and Europe
[34] All Together Now, Politely Racist: a case study on readers’ comments in Australian mainstream newspapers, All Together Now, University of Technology Sydney, Cultural & Indigenous Research Centre Australia, Department of Social Services, 2021. https://alltogethernow.org.au/media-monitoring-report-politely-racist
[35] All Together Now, When inclusion means exclusion: social commentary and indigenous agency, All Together Now, University of Technology Sydney, Cultural & Indigenous Research Centre Australia and Department of Social Services, 2021. https://alltogethernow.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/When-inclusion…
[36] K Benier, J Blaustein, D Johns and S Maher, ‘Don’t drag me into this’: growing up South Sudanese in Victoria after the 2016 Moomba ‘riot’, Centre for Multicultural Youth, Monash University and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 2018; Commission for Children and Young People, 2023–2024 Youth Forum Report 1: A snapshot of consultations with young people as part of the South Sudanese Australian Youth Justice Expert Working Group, CCYP, 2024
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