The Tackling Hate Lab today launches two new reports, Mapping Online Anti-Jewish Hate in Australia: A Big Data Analysis and From Shock to System: The Rise of Anti-Muslim Hate in Australia. Together, they provide the largest analysis to date of online anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate in Australia, drawing on more than two million social media posts and hundreds of verified offline incidents between 2021 and 2026.
The reports are being released as the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion examines Australia’s response to rising hate and social division. Using transparent artificial intelligence methods combined with community informed classifiers and expert review, the research tracks how online hate changes over time and how it relates to real world events.
Across both reports, one finding stands out. October 7 2023 marked a structural shift in Australian discourse. Online anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate did not simply spike after major events. It remained at substantially higher levels, became more persistent, and became increasingly connected to offline incidents. Rather than treating online and offline hate as separate problems, the evidence shows they now operate as part of the same system. The Bondi terrorist attack triggered the largest surge in anti-Muslim hate observed in our data, demonstrating how major offline events can rapidly activate and amplify an already elevated online hate ecosystem.
The reports recommend establishing a permanent Hate Observatory to monitor hate targeting all communities in Australia. A long term, independent monitoring capability would provide early warning of emerging risks, evaluate whether interventions are working, and strengthen accountability for governments and technology platforms.
These reports demonstrate how transparent, scientifically rigorous AI can help Australia move from reacting to crises towards preventing them.