DoomsdaysCW#Australia - Online #racism is significantly affecting mental health, #FirstNations people say: ‘It’s like carrying a bully in your pocket’
Australian Human Rights Commission has called for a digital duty of care to prevent #SocialMedia #algorithms from incentivising ‘racist’ content
Douglas Smith and Sarah Collard
Fri 12 Jun 2026 11.00 EDT
Excerpt: "Sam Bennell started a social media account to share his deep love of #Noongar culture and language. The 27-year-old gained nearly 10,000 followers in just a few months across Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, but says when he began sharing more of the traditional culture and language from south-west Western Australia he noticed a distinct change in the comments left under his posts.
" 'All the racists started commenting,' he says.
"He told Guardian Australia that his videos appeared to be pushed to a wider audience, which was attracting negativity. 'Facebook seems to be pushing my content to racists for some reason, which I don’t get,' he says. 'I haven’t been posting lately because it has been taking a toll on my mental health … all that online stuff is just crazy.' "
#AuntyLisa #Racism #IndigenousAustralians #AusPol #OnlineHarassment #SocialMediaAlgorithms #Incitement
