Fighting against the rising tide

Dear Supporter, 

This newsletter shares our latest work tackling the rising tide of online hate. We look at racism against Black Americans posted in Australia, anti-Asian hate spreading on Twitter, a rise in antisemitism, attacks on our politicians and more. We have tackled that and more since our newsletter last month, links to the specific articles are below. For those who are new to our mailing list, our past newsletters are a great way to track develops in online hate as well as the critical work we have been doing, particularly through this pandemic. 

In addition to our public work, we continue our efforts applying for grants and reaching out to politicians to ensure this vital work will be supported and can continue. We are Australia's only national Harm Prevention Charity dedicated to tackling online hate and extremism, we have an amazing track record over the last 8 years, but we continue to face barriers to get the financial support from governments to tackle these online issues - even at this time when the need is so obvious. Federal, State and local governments need to step up. 

To our Jewish supporters, we wish you the traditional greeting of Shana Tovah (happy new year) but do so with concern for the year ahead. It has been a tough year given the rise in antisemitism and from our monitoring, the coming year is unlikely to improve. Already the narratives of antisemitism online are shifting. The path to recovery from the pandemic will involve challenges and stresses, and some are already looking for scapegoats.

In a few days we will send a special announcement reflecting on the Halle Attack on Yom Kippur a year ago and our work tackling the shift from online hate to violent extremism. While donation to support our work can be made at any time, that anniversary newsletter will be part of a fundraising appeal. It will reflect on our major report (released just prior to Christmas) which has made a major contribution to the efforts to tackle online extremism. It highlights why our work is not just helpful, but vital. Your help to introducing others to us in the coming days by forwarding this e-mail can really help. Our funds are going towards real work, not marketing, promotions or fundraising. We reply on the quality of our work, and on you, our supporters, to spread the word.

Kind regards,

Dr Andre Oboler
CEO, Online Hate Prevention Institute