Behind the Campaign: Antisemitism and Australia’s Online Election Discourse

In the lead up to the Australian federal election on May 3, 2025, CyberWell conducted a focused analysis of election-related antisemitic content on major social media platforms. This investigation zeroed in on how antisemitism has emerged surrounding the election campaign, focusing specifically on the two main political parties and their respective prime ministerial candidates:

• Labor Party and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
• Liberal Party and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton

The findings reveal a disturbing presence of blatant antisemitic content embedded within election-related narratives referencing both political parties and their candidates.

Our research revealed three main harmful narratives:

1. The idea of Jewish world domination and control
2. The Kalergi Plan conspiracy theory
3. False flag and victim-blaming tactics

With more than 250,000 views across 80 pieces of content, these narratives contribute to hatred and division, raising concerns about their impact on societal dialogue and social cohesion.

We explore these topics in more detail with specific examples later in the blog and offer insight into the nature of the content as well as the platforms’ response to it.

Methodology

Between Nov 11, 2024 – April 22, 2025,[1] CyberWell’s monitoring technology flagged 548 posts[2] in English on Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube that included keywords related to the Australian federal election and had a high likelihood of being antisemitic.

Of the 548 posts, CyberWell selected a sample for manual review. In total, 80 posts were confirmed as antisemitic according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, a globally recognized consensus definition that CyberWell uses as a discourse analysis tool and which includes 11 examples of antisemitism.

Among all platforms analyzed, X accounted for the majority of posts (71.25%), followed by Facebook (23.75%), TikTok (3.75%), and YouTube (1.25%).

Impact | Views & Engagement

This dataset of 80 posts received a total of 257,315 views (excluding Facebook, where view counts are unavailable). Total engagement across all four platforms—including retweets, likes, comments, and shares—amounted to 25,693 interactions.

Rates of Removal

Despite the high number of views and interactions, only 26.25% of the posts were removed after being reported by CyberWell across all monitored platforms—a rate significantly lower than the 50% removal rate recorded in CyberWell’s 2024 Annual Report.

Removal Rates per Platform

• Facebook: 89.47%
• TikTok: 33.33%
• X: 5.26%
• YouTube: 0%

Note: It is important to acknowledge that YouTube represented the fewest number of posts—only one—in the dataset. Given the low number, despite the 0% removal rate, the platform’s approach to enforcing its policies may be successful in removing election-related hate speech efficiently.

Most Prevalent Antisemitic Claims

According to the IHRA

All posts in this dataset fall under the second example provided in the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism:

“Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions”.

This category was present in 100% of the posts analyzed [3], indicating that the dominant antisemitic theme in this dataset centers on conspiracy theories about Jewish global control and influence.

Notably, IHRA Example 2 closely aligns with the core principles of major social media platforms’ hate speech and hateful conduct policies, as it includes offensive generalizations, harmful stereotypes, and conspiracy theories targeting a “protected group”, which includes religious affiliation or belief. As such, it is reasonable to expect that platforms would strongly enforce their policies  regarding this type of content. In practice, however, enforcement of election-related hate speech appears to be significantly lower than typical enforcement rates.

It is worth noting that other IHRA examples were also identified during the vetting process—such as Example 9, which refers to the use of symbols and imagery associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., blood libel or accusations of Jews killing Jesus) to describe Israel or Israelis. However, the frequency of such content was minimal and not comparable in scale to that of Example 2.

Breaking Down the Three Narratives[4]

I.     World Domination & Control

This narrative, which was the most dominant in the dataset, asserts that the political candidates and/or their parties are controlled by Jews and therefore prioritize Jewish interests over the wellbeing of Australia. It reflects a classic antisemitic trope portraying Jews as manipulative puppeteers who secretly control governments, political leaders, and electoral processes. Below are several sub-narratives of the world domination theme identified in the dataset:

Albanese/Labor Party and Dutton/Liberal Party are owned by Jews

In several instances, claims were made that Albanese or Dutton support Jewish communities due to the influence of alleged Jewish wealth that could benefit their election campaigns. These statements mirror long-standing antisemitic conspiracies suggesting that Jews exert control over powerful individuals—especially politicians—and dominate financial and economic systems. Similar rhetoric has been employed this year against figures such as U.S. President, Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris, during their election campaigns. Examples are seen in the tweets below.

In some cases, users might refer to Jews as “Zionists.”

The word “Zionist” is sometimes used as a proxy term for “Jew” to spread antisemitic content. This way, users can avoid explicitly writing “Jew”, thereby slipping under the radar and remaining online despite violating community standards and hate speech policies. In an effort to address this gap, Meta and TikTok recognized the use of the word “Zionist” as a proxy for “Jew” in antisemitic conspiracy theories, incitement to violence, and dehumanizing remarks.

Additionally, many users employ other coded language to advance antisemitic narratives. Regarding Australian election content, some users suggested that Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are controlled by Jewish interests and reinforced the claim by distorting their surnames into terms like “Jewbanese” and “Duttonstein”. These modified names employ stereotypical Jewish markers to mock the politicians and imply allegiance to Jewish power.

Australia as a Country is Controlled by Jews

Some pieces of content focused not on the antisemitic narrative of Jewish control over candidates and political parties, but rather on the idea that Australia, as a country, is controlled by Jews. One of the most prominent antisemitic tropes in this category is the “Zionist Occupied Government” (ZOG) trope, rooted in white supremacist ideology, which claims that national governments are secretly controlled by Jewish interests. In the Australian context, this narrative also accuses local Jewish organizations, particularly the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), of exerting undue influence over political decision-making, media, and public policy. These claims suggest that Australia’s sovereignty is compromised by Jewish control, echoing broader global conspiracies that depict Jews as a powerful cabal manipulating governments and institutions for their own benefit.

II.     Conspiracy Theories: The “Great Replacement” Theory / “Kalergi Plan”

This narrative is rooted in the white supremacist “Great Replacement” theory, which falsely claims that there is a deliberate effort—allegedly led by Jews—to replace white populations through mass migration. A related variation, the so-called “Kalergi Plan”, asserts that Jewish elites are orchestrating demographic changes to weaken or ultimately eliminate the white race.

Within Australian discourse, this conspiracy frames immigration policy as a tool of Jewish control, accusing both major political parties of being complicit in advancing this agenda. Promoters of this narrative argue that increased migration is not a result of policy decisions or humanitarian considerations, but rather part of a covert plan driven by Jewish interests to undermine white Australians.

III.     “False Flag” & Victim Blaming

This narrative promotes the antisemitic claim that Jewish individuals or organizations deliberately stage antisemitic incidents—such as vandalism, threats, or attacks—to manipulate public opinion, gain political advantage, or justify restrictive laws around hate speech. Proponents argue that these so-called “false flag” operations are engineered by Jews to portray themselves as victims and silence criticism of Jewish power or influence.

In the Australian context, such claims have surfaced in response to real antisemitic incidents, including the arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024. Instead of acknowledging these events as expressions of rising antisemitism, conspiracy theorists accuse Jewish communities of orchestrating them for strategic gain—particularly during politically sensitive periods, such as national elections.

Community Standards & Platform Policies

The dataset analyzed includes four major social media platforms: Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube—all of which maintain community guidelines prohibiting various forms of hate speech, including antisemitism. However, their approaches to election-related hate speech vary significantly.

Among the platforms, X appears to take the most permissive stance. This may be due to two possible factors: either the platform’s Hateful Conduct policy is not consistently enforced in the context of political discourse or antisemitic content that references politicians or electoral matters is not explicitly restricted. This observation aligns with CyberWell’s findings, which show that X hosted the majority of antisemitic posts in the dataset (71.25%) and exhibited a notably low removal rate of just 5.26%.

Both Facebook and TikTok adopt a more middle-ground approach to moderation across their platforms—they do not currently include explicit clauses in their policies targeting election-related hate speech. However, the enforcement of their general hate speech guidelines suggests a willingness to address such content when encountered. In terms of outcomes, Facebook demonstrated the highest rate of content removal, taking down 89.47% of the reported posts. TikTok showed a moderate level of enforcement, with a removal rate of 33.33%. However, it accounted for only a small percentage of the total posts in the dataset (3.75%). It is also possible that TikTok removes a significant amount of hateful content quickly, which might explain its lower overall removal rate compared to Facebook. It is also worth noting that CyberWell is a trusted partner of TikTok and Meta, which may support stronger response mechanisms for reported antisemitic content.

Lastly, unlike the other platforms, YouTube takes a more defined stance by including specific hate speech policies on elections and civic integrity. The platform explicitly prohibits hate speech and harassment in this context. Reflecting this policy, YouTube had the fewest antisemitic posts in the dataset. While the removal rate stood at 0%, this is attributable to the fact that only one video was identified during the monitoring period.

Footnotes:

[1] The 2025 Australian federal election was officially called on March 28, with early voting commencing on April 22 ahead of the election date on May 3.

[2] CyberWell categorizes posts according to the platform on which they were found. While some posts include shares of videos or content from other platforms, such as TikTok, they are only counted according to the platform on which the post itself was shared.

[3]  It is important to note that each post in this dataset may contain more than one IHRA example.

[4]  For additional examples of blatant antisemitic content associated to the discussed narratives, see the Appendix at the end of this report.

Appendix

This appendix includes several examples of each of the antisemitic narratives detailed above. The selected examples represent patterns that were found in numerous posts in the dataset. Monitoring these patterns on the platforms may help to identify additional posts.

I.     World Domination & Control

Albanese/Labor Party and Dutton/Liberal Party are owned by Jews

This tweet is  overtly antisemitic and deeply dehumanizing. The cartoon depicts Australian political leader Peter Dutton, identified by name, drinking exaggeratedly from a container marked “Jewish semen”—a vulgar and graphic metaphor intended to humiliate and degrade him while implying subservience to Jews. The tweet’s caption, “duttonstein on his knees like ALL the others,” further amplifies the antisemitic message by mocking Dutton’s perceived submission and using the suffix “-stein” to assign him a Jewish identity, a common slur meant to accuse public figures of secret Jewish allegiance or servitude. This content promotes the classic antisemitic narrative of non-Jewish politicians being controlled, dominated, or emasculated by Jews. It employs crude sexual imagery to communicate a message of domination and betrayal, insinuating that Jewish influence over politics is not only total but also humiliating and perverse.

This TikTok video promotes a classic antisemitic conspiracy theory by depicting Australian political leaders, Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese, wearing kippahs in Jewish settings, alongside a caption alleging “infiltration” and suggesting that “they all have one thing in common.” The implication is that Jewish people secretly control world leaders through covert influence, a narrative that plays directly into centuries-old antisemitic tropes about Jewish global domination. The hashtags  “#kippah,” “#israel,” “#infiltration,” and “#wakeup” reinforce the idea that Jewish presence or participation in public life is suspicious or threatening. Among others, the post also includes pictures of Obama and Macron.

Australia as a Country is Controlled by Jews

This post promotes explicit antisemitic conspiracy theories by asserting that Australia is controlled by “Zio Jews” and governed solely for the benefit of Jews. The claim that government parties, media, and lobbying groups are “owned” by Jews and that hate speech laws only serve to protect them frames Jews as a shadowy elite manipulating national institutions for their own gain. The accompanying video reinforces these claims by stating Australia is “under Israel” with “liberty and justice for Jews only,” falsely portraying Jews as oppressors and foreign occupiers. The repeated use of coded slurs like “Zio Jews” and the framing of Jews as enemies of both white Australians and Muslims is intended to incite broad hostility. This post clearly targets Jews based on their religious and ethnic identity and is a direct expression of antisemitic incitement.

This post promotes the antisemitic “Zionist Occupied Government” (ZOG) conspiracy theory, which falsely claims that Jews secretly control governments and manipulate national affairs for their own benefit. By referring to Australia as “Zionist occupied,” the post dehumanizes Jews and presents them as a hostile, foreign force undermining national sovereignty. This framing echoes long-standing antisemitic tropes of Jewish domination and infiltration, directly targeting Jews as a collective threat to society.

II. Conspiracy Theories: The “Great Replacement” Theory / “Kalergi Plan”

This tweet promotes multiple antisemitic conspiracy theories and narratives. It explicitly blames Jews for various political, social, and economic developments, using language that mirrors far-right extremist tropes. The reference to “The Kalergi Plan” invokes a white supremacist conspiracy theory alleging that Jews are orchestrating mass immigration to eliminate white populations—an idea rooted in the “Great Replacement” narrative. By calling hate speech laws “the Jewish Censorship Bill,” the tweet claims Jews are suppressing free speech, aligning with the antisemitic notion that Jews control media, discourse, and legislation to silence critics. Labeling the synagogue arson as “FRAUD” implies that Jews staged the attack for personal or political gain, a narrative that accuses Jews of fabricating victimhood. The tweet further asserts that regardless of who is elected—Albanese or Dutton— “Jews Win,” suggesting total Jewish control over the political system, a core component of the antisemitic “puppet master” trope. The term “USURY,” historically used to vilify Jews by linking them to exploitative financial practices reinforces the accusation that Jews dominate and corrupt global economies. The phrase “Kosher merry go round” cynically implies that all political activity serves Jewish interests. Altogether, this tweet is saturated with antisemitic content, advancing a worldview that depicts Jews as all-powerful manipulators behind immigration, censorship, political outcomes, and economic exploitation.

This tweet and accompanying image promote a blatant antisemitic conspiracy theory by falsely claiming that Jews—identified using the coded term “ZJevvs” (a reference to “Zionist Jews”)—were solely responsible for abolishing the White Australia Policy and imposing multiculturalism. The image highlights Jewish individuals with Stars of David, portraying them as orchestrators of demographic and political change in Australia, a long-standing antisemitic trope. The post’s language, including racialized caricatures like “big noses,” furthers its intent to dehumanize and vilify Jews as a monolithic force undermining “white people” and so-called traditional Australian life. By suggesting that Jewish influence is an existential threat, the post actively promotes hate and incitement against Jews.

III.     “False Flag” & Victim Blaming

This tweet promotes multiple antisemitic conspiracy theories and was posted as a comment to another tweet that mocked efforts to address antisemitism. The original tweet reads: “Remember when Peter Dutton and Shari Markson held an orchestrated ‘Antisemitism Summit’ to convince Australia we have an antisemitism problem… 😂😂😂 IT WAS ALL KOSHER THEATRE.” This post dismisses antisemitism as fabricated and mocks Jewish terminology (“kosher”) to trivialize and delegitimize Jewish concerns. In response, another user commented: “False flag PSY OP Zionist scum – Australian politicians are controlled entirely by foreign Jewish entities. Australia is a SECULAR nation built on a traditional Christian value system. Dutton belongs in jail.” This reply intensifies the antisemitic messaging by accusing Jews—referred to here with slurs like “Zionist scum”—of orchestrating deceptive political operations (“false flag PSY OP”) and controlling Australian politicians. The claim that Jewish influence contradicts Australia’s Christian values further casts Jews as foreign, subversive agents. The combined posts promote the narrative that Jews manufacture antisemitism, manipulate governments, and threaten national identity—hallmarks of deeply rooted antisemitic conspiracy theories.