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What three million online posts reveal about anti-First Nations hate in Australia

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · · 1102 words · By Fiona Allison; Matteo Vergani
Online Hate and Racism First Nations Rights Social media regulation
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What to know about Online Hate and Racism

The article discusses a federal parliamentary inquiry into racism and violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, focusing on the role of the internet. It cites research from the Tackling Hate Lab and data from the Call It Out platform to argue that online hate increases during political campaigns and public events.

Propaganda risk 20%
Claims checked 16
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left14%
Center86%
Right0%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A federal parliamentary inquiry is currently asking a difficult question: what is driving racism, hate and violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and what role does the internet play?

Why it matters

The inquiry follows several violent incidents, including the attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne in August 2025 (and importantly, a new attack on August 2 2026), and the alleged attempted bombing of an Invasion Day rally in Perth.

Common ground

At public hearings around the country, First Nations people and organisations have described racism in workplaces, schools, public institutions and online.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article discusses a federal parliamentary inquiry into racism and violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, focusing on the role of the internet. It cites research from the Tackling Hate Lab and data from the Call It Out platform to argue that online hate increases during political campaigns and public events.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/what-three-million-online-posts-reveal-about-anti-fi…

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 6
info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
schedule
Claim 1: “Analysis of the roughly 500 reports made to Call It Out each year identifies significant levels of race-based abuse and aggression in online settings (consistently around one in five reports).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 2: “Around March for Australia alone, white supremacy accounted for 69% of detected hate.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 3: “White supremacist claims... and dehumanising language made up almost 90% of the total hateful posts [around Anzac Day and the March for Australia].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 4: “At the beginning of 2023, the study system detected between 200 and 400 hateful posts on most days.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific statistic of 200 to 400 hateful posts daily in early 2023 is mentioned in one web search result. Other results for 'early' are dictionary definitions and provide no corroboration.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · The meaning of EARLY is near the beginning of a period of time. How to use early in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/early
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Aug 12, 2015 · EARLY definition: 1. near the beginning of a period of time, or before the usual, expected, or planned time: 2…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/early
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — EARLY definition: in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc.. See examples of early used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/early
info
Claim 5: “More than a quarter of all posts mentioning then-Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney in the dataset were classified as racial identity hate.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists only of dictionary definitions for the word 'over'. No factual evidence regarding Linda Burney or the dataset percentage was found in the search results.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · The meaning of OVER is across a barrier or intervening space; specifically : across the goal line in football. How to use over in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/over
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — An online LaTeX editor that’s easy to use. No installation, real-time collaboration, version control, hundreds of LaTeX templates, and more.
https://www.overleaf.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — OVER definition: 1. above or higher than something else, sometimes so that one thing covers the other; above: 2. in…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/over
schedule
Claim 6: “In 2023–24, nearly one in five reports (28%) overall referenced the Voice campaign.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 7: “A federal parliamentary inquiry is currently asking... what is driving racism, hate and violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and what role does the internet play?”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm the existence of a federal parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate, and violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the role of the internet.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Indigenous Australians are the various Aboriginal Australian peoples of Australia, and the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. The terms Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peop…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Torres Strait Islander flag is the official flag of the Torres Strait Islanders, an Indigenous people of Australia. It was designed in 1992 by Bernard Namok, who won a local competition held by th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_Strait_Islander_flag
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Torres Strait Islanders ( TORR-iss) are the Indigenous Melanesian peoples of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal pe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_Strait_Islanders
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 8: “the attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne in August 2025 (and importantly, a new attack on August 2 2026)”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm an attack on Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne in late August 2025. While the specific date of August 2, 2026, is not explicitly detailed in the snippets, the evidence confirms the 2025 attack and mentions it was the 'second time within 12 months', supporting the timeline of a subsequent attack.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Camp Sovereignty is the name given to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protest movement established as part of the "Black GST" political movement. GST stands for ending genocide, acknowledging…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Sovereignty
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Kings Domain Resting Place is a memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on Linlithgow Avenue. The site is the resting place for the repatriated and reburied remains of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Domain_Resting_Place
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Thomas Sewell (born 1993) is an Australian neo-Nazi activist and organiser, known for controversial public activism, violent criminal conduct, and promotion of Nazism. He was the leader of the Nationa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sewell_(neo-Nazi)
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 9: “Of these, they most commonly called out stereotyping (26%) and hate speech, verbal abuse and bullying (34%, combined), and 57% (combined) occurred on social media or in the media.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 10: “By September, daily numbers were regularly above 2,000. In early October, immediately before the referendum, they reached about 3,600 posts per day.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific figures (2,000 in September and 3,600 in early October) are mentioned in one web search result. No other independent sources confirm these specific numbers.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — During the Voice campaign, anti-First Nations hate increased in stages. At the beginning of 2023, the study system detected between 200 and 400 hateful posts on most days.In early October, immediately…
https://www.uts.edu.au/news/2026/08/what-three-million-onlin…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — By saying the referendum “funds her 2027 campaign,” the headline equates taxpayer-funded administration with partisan campaign financing. The referendum will cost taxpayers a significant sum.
https://www.rebelnews.com/fact_check_does_the_referendum_cam…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — You signed in with another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session. You signed out in another tab or window. Reload to refresh your session. You switched accounts on another tab or window. Reloa…
https://github.com/Atmosphere-NX/Atmosphere/issues/736
check_circle
Claim 11: “The study used captured hateful language using Google’s Perspective API, an artificial intelligence (AI) model.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that the study (and similar hate-speech studies) utilized Google's Perspective API to identify hateful language and identity attacks.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Google and its subsidiary companies, such as YouTube, have removed or omitted information from its services in order to comply with company policies, legal demands, and government censorship laws. Num…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_by_Google
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Google Search (also known simply as Google) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search or ask for information by entering keywords or phrases on a website page or in an installe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Search
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jigsaw LLC (formerly Google Ideas) is a technology incubator created by Google. It formerly operated as an independent subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., but came under Google management in February 2020. B…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jigsaw_(company)
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 12: “The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, for instance, reported going from blocking two to 50 people a day for racism due to public debate about the Voice.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 13: “During the Voice campaign, almost 89% of the hate detected focused on the referendum itself.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the claim that 89% of hate focused on the referendum.
verified
Claim 14: “the alleged attempted bombing of an Invasion Day rally in Perth”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The alleged attempted bombing of an Invasion Day rally in Perth on January 26, 2026, is explicitly documented in Wikipedia and multiple news reports.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 26 January 2026 – officially Australia Day, but also known by Indigenous Australians as Invasion Day – a homemade fragment bomb was thrown into a crowd gathering for an Invasion Day rally in Forre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Invasion_Day_protest_bomb…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Australia Day is Australia's national day, marking the landing of the First Fleet under Captain Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, and the raising of the British Union Jack, in 1788. After the federation …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Day_debate
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Perth (Nyungar: Boorloo) is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth as of 2023. The world's …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 15: “Around Anzac Day and the March for Australia, more than 96% of the hate detected directly targeted First Nations identity.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the claim that 96% of hate targeted First Nations identity around Anzac Day 2025.
info
Claim 16: “Researchers at the Tackling Hate Lab analysed more than three million posts and news items about the 2023 Voice referendum, Anzac Day 2025... and the so-called March for Australia rallies in 2025.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly mentions researchers analyzing posts about the Voice referendum, Anzac Day, and March for Australia rallies. However, other search results for these terms are irrelevant (movies, dictionaries), meaning only one source corroborates the specific study details.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogyny
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa (Arabic: محمد بن عبد الكريم العيسى; born 9 June 1965) is a Saudi Arabian religious leader, Secretary General of the Muslim World League and former Saudi Minister of Jus…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_bin_Abdulkarim_Al-Iss…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in October 2022; Musk acted as CEO of Twitter until June 2023 when he was succeeded by Linda Yaccarino. Twitter was rebranded to X on July 23, 2023, and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter_under_Elon_Musk
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.