African community leaders claim that after a 16-year-old boy was accused of stabbing an Ipswich grandmother, Africans are receiving hateful remarks and calls for ethnic bloodshed on the internet.
The ABC has seen numerous racist conspiracy theories connected to the purported murder, along with hundreds of social media posts advocating for mass deportations and racial lynchings.
A number of posts were removed from their respective sites after receiving hundreds of comments and reactions.
On Monday, some are still published, especially on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.
According to the Queensland African Communities Council, Africans who are not involved in the suspected murder are the target of racial abuse.Renee Zahnow, a researcher at the University of Queensland who examines online vigilantism, expressed her sadness at the online reaction but did not find it surprising.
The associate professor has concentrated his research on the potential for vigilante violence and blame against innocent people on Facebook community pages.
The urban criminologist claimed to have researched situations in which misinformation on social media led Townsville vigilantes to attack the wrong individual.
According to Dr. Zahnow, the Ipswich event was the “ideal scenario” for inciting moral panic because the accused boy belonged to a recognised group and the deceased was a Christian grandma.
“Unfortunately, the African population is a very visible group in the Australian community because of their darker skin and appearance,” Zahnow added.Renee Zahnow, a researcher at the University of Queensland who examines online vigilantism, expressed her sadness at the online reaction but did not find it surprising.
The associate professor has concentrated his research on the potential for vigilante violence and blame against innocent people on Facebook community pages.
The urban criminologist claimed to have researched situations in which misinformation on social media led Townsville vigilantes to attack the wrong individual.
According to Dr. Zahnow, the Ipswich event was the “ideal scenario” for inciting moral panic because the accused boy belonged to a recognised group and the deceased was a Christian grandma.
“Unfortunately, the African population is a very visible group in the Australian community because of their darker skin and appearance,” Zahnow added.According to data from the Queensland Police Service, crime rates in the Ipswich region have mostly not altered over the previous 20 years and have mostly kept pace with the state average.
Over the past 20 years, car theft and break-in rates have decreased, but Ipswich’s long-term average for both common and serious assault rates is currently twice as high.
One such instance was in September 2017, when Operation Papa Accent coincided with 2,504 narcotics charges.According to Dr Zahnow’s research, social media-induced anxiety altered people’s conduct, making them less likely to use public transportation or venture outside.
According to her, older people were more inclined to use the hyperlocal content, which contributed to the impression that crime was on the rise.
According to Dr. Zahnow, it is negatively affecting senior citizens’ social, emotional, and physical welfare.
Daughter of stab victim: “Don’t judge the whole community by a couple of bad apples”
According to her daughter, the mother “loved everybody” and the 70-year-old was allegedly fatally stabbed in a shopping centre parking lot.
A woman holding an arm around a girl whose face is obscured by blur smiles for the camera.
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