‘Playground for anti-Semitism’: Social media platforms slammed at royal commission
Elon Musk has been labeled “dangerous” after his “toxic” social media platform was the subject of damaging statements at the royal commission into anti-Semitism following the Bondi terror attack.
X, formerly Twitter, was condemned by several “concerned” experts this week for refusing to respond to repeated requests to join the Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion.
Following Mr Musk’s acquisition of the platform, X sacked 80 per cent of its online security staff, denied responsibility for protecting children from “violent porn” and argued that footage of December’s Bondi terror attack and ‘Holocaust jokes’ should be allowed to appear online, the commission heard.
On December 14, 15 people were shot and killed in a targeted attack on the Jewish community at the Chanukah by the Sea event at Bondi Beach.
According to several expert eyewitnesses, Musk’s purchase of the company for $44 billion in 2022 marked a shift in platform priorities; this has led to the promotion of almost “absolute freedom of expression” and the monetization of harmful material.
“Elon Musk himself has actually amplified certain content that promotes anti-Semitism and incites hatred,” said Andre Oboler, CEO of the Institute for Preventing Online Hate.
“Obviously, we saw Trump’s Nazi salute at the event after his election.
“So… read it all you want, but there is definitely an issue here that is getting bigger and bigger and coming from someone who has such a huge influence on the platform.”
X Corp was repeatedly cited as a “difficult” organization to work with during testimonial week in Sydney.
He even reportedly said that the social media company should not be responsible for protecting children from “violent pornography,” “hate speech,” or “content that encourages seriously harmful behavior.”
X had responded to a government survey in 2025 by advising on potential legislation that would shift the platform’s responsibility from reactive complaint responses to active risk management.
Sarah Vandenbroek, first assistant secretary of the government’s digital platforms, safety and classification department, told the commission she was “disappointed” by the company’s denial of responsibility for harmful content accessed by children.
The violent reality of online attacks
Online hate has the potential to incite real-life incidents, according to counsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC.
Mr. Lancaster said social media platforms could operate as “incubators/incubators of anti-Semitic violence” after the online environment became “perhaps the most important vector” in the spread of Jew hatred.
Research cited in the commission’s interim report highlighted that up to 60 percent of violent extremist criminals were “primarily radicalized online or have significant online influence.”
For federal Labor MP Josh Burns, online threats have become a “surreal” reality as extremists firebombed and vandalized his St Kilda election office in an anti-Semitic attack.
The politician, who is Jewish, described social media platforms as “arenas of hate” after facing thousands of online attacks and threats.
“They direct traffic to the most hostile people, the darkest community where potentially abusive content is being sent.”
He also described his “frustration” with the platform’s complaints “getting lost in a black hole” after only three of its 44 reports resulted in posts being removed.
Mr Burns’s sentiments were echoed by Australian Jew Arsen Ostrovsky, who was the target of a deepfake smear campaign after he was injured in the December 14 attack.
The Bondi survivor faced a “relentless tsunami of online Jew-hatred” that included AI images depicting her as a crisis actor.
Mr Ostrovsky said some of the hurtful content was “still online” more than six months later.
The target of the suicide survey is children
The commission heard many parents describe the pain of telling their children that they “didn’t do anything wrong” just because they were Jewish.
Social media platforms are serving as a “playground” for increasing antisemitism in Australia, a concerned Jewish father testified on Monday.
The anonymous witness described the “terrible ordeal” of reading online anti-Semitic attacks on her son, which included Nazi slogans and a poll discussing whether the then seven-year-old should kill himself.
“This is not something you want your child to experience,” the father said.
The investigation will continue on Monday and the findings will be published before the first anniversary of the attack.
