306 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield S. Vic. 3162 T (61-3) 9272 5594 E info@ohpi.org.au W: www.ohpi.org.

au

Attacking the ANZACs on Facebook

Copyright 2013 Online Hate Prevention Institute

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Report: IR13-05 Dr Andre Oboler

Attacking the ANZACs on Facebook By Andre Oboler

Published in Melbourne by: Online Hate Prevention Institute 306 Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield South, Vic, 3162 Ph: (03) 9272 5594 E-mail: ohpi@ohpi.org.au Website: http://www.ohpi.org.au

ISBN: 9780987429438

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the National Library of Australia: http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/

Copyright 2013 Online Hate Prevention Institute

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

About the Online Hate Prevention Institute

The Online Hate Prevention Institute (OHPI) is an Australian Charity on the Register of Harm Prevention Charities maintain by the Australian Government. We aim to be a world leader in combating online hate and a critical partner who works with key stakeholders to improve the prevention, mitigation and responses to online hate. Ultimately, OHPI seeks to facilitate a change in online culture so that hate in all its forms becomes as socially unacceptable online as it is in real life. OHPI is supported by public donations to the Online Hate Prevention Fund. Within Australia donations over two dollars are tax deductible (see below). More information can be found on our website: www.ohpi.org.au

About the Reports Author, Dr Andre Oboler

Dr Oboler is CEO of the Online Hate Prevention Institute. Dr Oboler holds an Honours Degree in Computer Science from Monash University (Australia), a PhD in Computer Science from Lancaster University (UK) and completed a Post Doctoral Fellowship in the Department of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University (Israel). He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a member of the IEEE Computer Society and the IEEE Society for the Social Implications of Technology.

How you can help us

As a first step in supporting our work, if you use Facebook please like our Facebook page at www.ohpi.org.au/onlinehate, and if you have Twitter, please follow us at @onlinehate. You can also assist us by sharing our work with others. OHPIs work is made possible through public donations. In Australia we are a Registered Harm Prevention Charity and all donations over $2 to the Online Hate Prevention Fund are tax deductible. We also accept donations from outside Australia. Donations can be made through our website: http://ohpi.org.au/donate/ Cheques payable to the Online Hate Prevention Fund can be mailed to: OHPI, 306 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield South, Vic 3126, Australia.

Page |1

Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2 List of Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 3 Remove Anzac Day As a Public Holiday (ID: 159620354199211) ........................................................... 4 Attacking the ANZACs ......................................................................................................................... 4 Impersonation and incitement ........................................................................................................... 8 Anzac day is a joke (ID: 642183265797348) ......................................................................................... 12 Attacking the ANZACs ....................................................................................................................... 13 Impersonation and incitement ......................................................................................................... 17 Anzac day is a joke (ID: 476914582364450) ......................................................................................... 18 Attacking the ANZACs and mocking victims of the Boston Marathon attack................................... 19 Impersonation with Joseph ........................................................................................................... 20 Anzac day is a joke (ID: 623017154379082) ......................................................................................... 24 Attacking the ANZACs ....................................................................................................................... 25

Page |2

Introduction
In the lead-up to ANZAC day 2013 an internet troll began creating a series of pages mocking ANZAC veterans. The pages were designed to cause public outrage in both Australia and New Zealand. The pages had few fans, and most of the fans they had on inspection appeared to be recently created fake accounts. Most, if not all, of the fake accounts appear to belong to the page creator. While our veterans can take comfort in the fact that those who would support such attacks are few and far between, the outrage felt by the community was significant. The person responsible for these pages is known to OHPI in relation to a number of past incidents, including pages attacking Indigenous Australians and the Jewish Community, and pages mocking the death of various children who have died in Australia in tragic circumstances. This page creator is a particular kind of troll known as a griefer, that is, someone who uses fake accounts in order to destroy other peoples experience of social media. Their aim is to cause distress, and if possible, get media attention. This report documents the first four pages created in this latest run of incidents. A fifth page, of a slightly different nature, was also briefly online and will be discussed in OHPIs next report. In this report, each Facebook page is addressed in two parts, the first examines the content attacking ANZAC veterans, and the second considers the secondary attack that occurs when the griefer subsequently discloses their identity. The identity information they provide whether it is a name, a Facebook profile link, or a phone number typically points to a real person who has been selected by the griefer as a target. The page is designed to generate anger and a desire for steps to be taken against the person behind the page, and the provision of identity information then discloses a clear and immediate target. The behaviour documented in this report demonstrates an escalation by this particular griefer over the last few days which has thankfully been matched by an increasingly fast responses from Facebook in response to OHPI reports. Facebook has been shutting down not only the hate pages, but also the fake accounts associated with them. This person has been active for six months, as documented both in OHPIs public reports, such as our report into Aboriginal Memes and Online Hate,1 and in confidential reports that have been shared with relevant government departments and officials. OHPI believes the nature of this persons activities is such that it creates a genuine risk of emotional or physical harm to members of targeted communities as well as to targeted victims of their secondary attacks. Online action is clearly insufficient to bring an end to these attacks on ANZAC veterans and other segments of the community. OHPI believe offences have been committed both under the Queensland Criminal Code and the Commonwealths Criminal Code Act 1995. Only a successful prosecution will put an end to this persons reign of hate.

See: http://ohpi.org.au/aboriginal-memes-and-online-hate/

Page |3

List of Recommendations
# 1 Recommendation Where fake accounts are used to create dedicated hate pages, all related fake accounts and related pages administered by the same accounts should be found and closed. Where a hate page is created and the anonymous page owner then impersonates another person, this should be classes as a potential immediate threat of physical harm and deal with as a matter of priority. Even where content is repeatedly recreated, its removal is still an effective response. It also sends a normative message to the effect that this content crosses a line. Facebook users should be wary of any page that posts a link to a Facebook profile or external website, or which posts personal information, and which claims this information belong to the page owner. Following a recommendation from OHPI, Facebook made it possible for page owners to visibly link their Facebook account to their page. If this has not been done, any claim of ownership to a page must be treated as suspicious. Organisations, companies and brands with a Facebook page should receive a notification when someone wishes to list themselves as employed by that entity. Until a page administrator accepts the person, they should not be visibly associated with the entitys page. To prevent abuse, administrators should be able to turn off notifications for approval. Where someone is the victim of repeated attacks, in a short time period, involving the recreation of hate pages Facebook has already removed, an additional reporting option should become available to allow new incidents to be easily linked to the previous incident. This would speed up the review process at Facebooks end, and allow these ongoing attacks to be given priority and the response from Facebook to be more easily escalated. Page 4

12

18

21

21

Page |4

Remove Anzac Day As a Public Holiday (ID: 159620354199211)

Figure 1: The page Remove Anzac Day As a Public Holiday (ID: 159620354199211)

This page was created on the 8th of April and, along with a related page and a number of fake user accounts, which OHPI brought to Facebooks attention, was closed by Facebook on the 12th of April. The step of removing the infrastructure was a significant measure. Despite a new page Anzac day is a joke (ID 642183265797348) later being created, the removal of the infrastructure significantly decreased the capacity of those behind the page and forced them to begin again from scratch. OHPI thanks Facebook for their response to this page which was both efficient and thorough. Recommendation 1: Where fake accounts are used to create dedicated hate pages, all related fake accounts and related pages administered by the same accounts should be found and closed.

Attacking the ANZACs

Figure 2 The video game

Page |5

Figure 3 Best we forget

Figure 4 A hero he's not

Page |6

Figure 5 ANZACs = Murderers

Figure 6 Get Well Soon Crew Laughs at your Dead

Page |7

Figure 7 Once a murderer always a murderer

Figure 8 Wheres Wally, POW edition

Page |8

Figure 9 Australian soldiers are weak and slow

Figure 10 ANZACs should make amends for death, destruction and misery

Figure 11 Remove ANZAC Day out of respect for German victims

Impersonation and incitement

The page also involved an impersonation of OHPIs CEO, Dr Andre Oboler. This was done to stir up anger at the page creator and then direct this anger at the chosen target, Dr Oboler. The comments are a clear case of incitement. There was also a second target, the owner of the phone number attributed to Dr Oboler. The incitement led to threats of violence on Facebook, and most likely by phone as well. Recommendation 2: Where a hate page is created and the anonymous page owner then impersonates another person, this should be classes as a potential immediate threat of physical harm and deal with as a matter of priority.

Page |9

Figure 12 Impersonation

Figure 13 Impersonation and direct incitement

P a g e | 10

Figure 14 Impersonation and a phone number (not mine)

Figure 15 expression of violence in response to incitement

P a g e | 11

Figure 16 Expression of violence in response to incitements

Figure 17 Expression of violence in response to incitement

P a g e | 12

Anzac day is a joke (ID: 642183265797348)

Figure 18: The page "Anzac day is a joke" (ID: 642183265797348)

The page Anzac day is a joke (ID: 642183265797348) was created on Saturday the 13th following the removal of the Remove Anzac Day As a Public Holiday (ID: 159620354199211) page. It was closed on Tuesday the 16th. The closure of supporting infrastructure related to the Remove Anzac Day As a Public Holiday (ID: 159620354199211) page set the creators of the new page back significantly. They created new fake accounts with the same profile pictures and names as those in the previous accounts Facebook had closed, but doing so cost them time and effort. Given the nature of social media, each time a page or account is closed, the creator must also begin building their social network and page supporter base from the beginning. Recommendation 3: Even where content is repeatedly recreated, its removal is still an effective response. It also sends a normative message to the effect that this content crosses a line. The number of supporters of the hate page may reduce: 1) As a result of a realization that things have gone too far 2) Out of a well placed concern that their activities are now in the spotlight of those able to take action against them (be it Facebook or law enforcement), and in the case of Facebook, that they may be putting their other accounts and pages at risk if they continue 3) As a response to the higher level of effort required to keep re-liking new version of the page, re-friending replacement fake accounts, and reposting content that is repeatedly removed

P a g e | 13

Attacking the ANZACs

Figure 19 Laughing at the death of the ANZACs

Figure 20 ANACs dying like slaughtered pigs

P a g e | 14

Figure 21 Repost of the Best We Forget image from the previous page

P a g e | 15

Figure 22 Mocking the desecration of a memorial

Figure 23 Attempt to cause outrage through frained ignorance (1)

P a g e | 16

Figure 24 Reposting of the A hero he's not image

Figure 25 Attempt to cause outrage through frained ignorance (2)

P a g e | 17

Impersonation and incitement

This page also involved impersonation and incitement.

Figure 26 Impersonation of Andre Oboler

Figure 27 Giving out a phone number (probably belonging to a victim)

P a g e | 18

Anzac day is a joke (ID: 476914582364450)

The third page, also entitled Anzac day is a joke but now with the unique page ID number 476914582364450, was created on Tuesday April 16th at around 4pm, and was closed by 11pm, within an hour of OHPI notifying Facebook. The pages cover photograph this time featured a military funeral with three targets drawn over the soldiers and the text pop pop pop. The creator dropped their faked political motive of opposing war, and now focused purely on causing offence without any attempt at justification. In this instance, the page creator invested a great deal of effort in their impersonation, and some members of the public fell for their libellous claim that OHPI and its CEO, Dr Andre Oboler, were somehow involved in this new hate page. Previous impersonation efforts had been rapidly dismissed by Facebook users as soon as they began doing their own research. This time, however, some users fell for the impersonation and began posting OHPIs contact details and office address to Facebook while others called for physical attacks against the page creator. Facebooks rapid response was a result of this escalating level of threat. The new page also included content mocking the bomb attack on the Boston marathon. Recommendation 4: Facebook users should be wary of any page that posts a link to a Facebook profile or external website, or which posts personal information, and which claims this information belong to the page owner. Following a recommendation from OHPI, Facebook made it possible for page owners to visibly link their Facebook account to their page. If this has not been done, any claim of ownership to a page must be treated as suspicious.

P a g e | 19

Attacking the ANZACs and mocking victims of the Boston Marathon attack

Figure 28 The cover image of a funeral precession being targeted

Figure 29 Defamation of the ANZACs and attempt to cause outrage through frained ignorance

Figure 30 Mocking the victims of the Boston Marathon attack

P a g e | 20

Figure 31 Anne Frank and the ANZACs another attempt to cause outrage through frained ignorance

Impersonation with Joseph

This time the impersonation involved the creation of a new fictional character, Joseph Oboler. This involved the creation of a fake account and then the use of that account to post on the anti-veteran hate page.

Figure 32 "Joseph Oboler" appears

Look at the profile itself shows that the workplace has been sent to OHPI, a number of posts are made to highlight the supposed Jewish identity of the poster, and reference is made to OHPIs CEO Dr Andre Oboler, who has been edited into a photograph with Joseph.

P a g e | 21

Figure 33 The fake accounts workplace has been set to OHPI

Recommendation 5: Organisations, companies and brands with a Facebook page should receive a notification when someone wishes to list themselves as employed by that entity. Until a page administrator accepts the person, they should not be visibly associated with the entitys page. To prevent abuse, administrators should be able to turn off notifications for approval. Recommendation 6: Where someone is the victim of repeated attacks, in a short time period, involving the recreation of hate pages Facebook has already removed, an additional reporting option should become available to allow new incidents to be easily linked to the previous incident. This would speed up the review process at Facebooks end, and allow these ongoing attacks to be given priority and the response from Facebook to be more easily escalated.

P a g e | 22

Figure 34 Edited photograph of "Joseph" and Andre (these events have been back dated to before the profiles creation date)

The photograph used for Joseph Obolers profile picture is actually that of Mr Pascal Canfin, Frances Deputy Minister of Development. The picture appears to have been lifted and cropped from the French Foreign Ministry website.2 The use of this more elaborate profile cause people to be more accepting of the authenticity of the profile, this created both anti-Jewish responses and efforts to expose OHPIs address in order to make it a target.

http://arabe.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/politique-etrangere-de-la-france/aide-au-developpement-et/assises-dudeveloppement-et-de-la/actualites-21795/article/cloture-des-assises-du

P a g e | 23

Figure 35 Users respond - Use of Joseph incites antisemitism, impact of frained ignorance

P a g e | 24

Figure 36 Targeting OHPI

Anzac day is a joke (ID: 623017154379082)

The 4th page attacking ANZAC veterans, the third by the name ANZAC day is a joke (ID: 623017154379082), was created around 11:30pm on April 16th. OHPI notified Facebook when we became aware of the page and it was removed within 24 hours of its creation.

P a g e | 25

Attacking the ANZACs

Figure 37 Attempt to cause outrage through frained ignorance

Figure 38 Defaming the ANZAC veterans

Figure 39 Call to ban ANZAC Day

Figure 40 Mobile phone number