Fury at ‘glorifying’ Instagram videos of spiralling violence showing brawling teens in SA town

Social media pages glorifying violence in an SA town have emerged online – revealing the shocking extent of rising anti-social behaviour.

Social media pages glorifying violence online have gone unchecked for weeks, sparking anger at internet giants and authorities for failing to stamp out the behaviour in a remote area.

More than two dozen harrowing Instagram videos have recorded Ceduna street, park and bus brawls, school fights, and violent attacks at sporting games.

The multiple social accounts, which are not being identified for security reasons, emerged amid mounting concerns at rising criminal anti-social behaviour on the Far West Coast.

A male football player in Ceduna tries to break up fighting teenage girls on the ground. Picture: Instagram

At least 27 graphic videos were posted on Instagram accounts, naming fighting teenagers throughout Ceduna, 400km northwest of Port Lincoln.

Bystanders are seen filming and encouraging violence in the videos that have been publicly shared over the past three weeks.

At a football game, players run past brawling women before one male player tries to break up the fight. Another shows a mother trying to stop the violence.

Another account’s blurb asked videoed fighters to not “get sh***y” if they were identified.

Senior police say they are “aware” of the accounts and of “community concern” at, what they described as, a “perceived increase in crime and anti-social behaviour” in Ceduna.

The Advertiser does not suggest any charges or police action have been taken over the incidents.

Violence has erupted in local school yards. Picture: supplied

Authorities have urged any victims of crime to immediately contact police.

The country’s e-safety watchdog is also investigating if any formal legal action can be taken under federal laws.

But an “absolutely appalled” senior South Australian Indigenous politician on Monday expressed outrage at social media giants and authorities for being “missing in action” as she called for the videos to be deleted.

Liberal Senator Kerrynne Liddle, the federal Opposition child protection and the prevention of family violence spokeswoman, also asked eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant to force Instagram to delete the accounts, which have more than 800 followers.

“The account’s posts show young people displaying the very worst behaviour and being filmed,” she said on Monday night.

“Surely given much of this is outside and likely on full public display, others saw it and heard it. What did they do? Where is the law and order?

“It’s hard to fathom so many violent videos have been posted and allowed to stay available in public view for so long.

“Social media companies must do better in identifying these issues and responding to them quickly.

“But there is also the responsibility of individuals and others who should, could and must always do more.”

Another schoolyard fight in Ceduna. Picture: supplied

None of the teens can be named for legal reasons.

The local federal Liberal MP for Grey, Rowan Ramsey said the “rise of this appalling behaviour” has accompanied a spike in other crimes such as break-ins, thefts and public disorder.

“The social media videos … are sickening and a clear indication of the breakdown of law and civility in a significant group of individuals either living or visiting the town,” he said.

A police spokeswoman said officers are “heavily involved” with numerous community organisations, state and federal Government agencies “to explore ways to reduce crime and the factors which may lead to anti-social behaviour in Ceduna”.

“Police encourage anyone who views anti-social, offensive or violent posts or accounts on social media to report it to the platform,” she said.

Ms Inman Grant said eSafety investigators are “currently reviewing these accounts to determine whether we can take any formal legal action under the Online Safety Act” for cyber-bullying.

She said her organisation doesn’t “proactively monitor the internet for seriously harmful content” as it was social media companies’ responsibility to “deter, detect and remove content advocating for, or promoting, violence on their platforms”.

“We would encourage anyone coming across a harmful fight video to report to the platform on which it is posted in the first instance,” she said.

“Directly reporting it to the platform is often the quickest way to have harmful content removed.

“For most of the major social media companies this type of content violates their own rules and they need to be enforcing these policies in a consistent way.

“Companies also need to be doing more to prevent recidivism.”

After The Advertiser’s inquiries the videos were deleted.

A spokesman for Meta, formerly Facebook that also controls Instagram, said: “The safety of our community on Instagram is our absolute priority.”

“Our policies clearly prohibit people from engaging in criminal activity or publicising crime and we will remove this content as soon as we become aware.

“We strongly encourage people to report content, so we can review it and take the appropriate action.”