Far-right extremists call for Brenton Tarrant to be Australian of the Year after Christchurch massacre
Far-right extremists are using internet chat rooms to call for the New Zealand mosques shooter to be nominated for Australian of the Year.
Exclusive: Far-right extremists using internet chat rooms to call for the New Zealand mosques shooter to be nominated for Australian of the Year have been slammed as abhorrent and an appalling manipulation of the system.
The vile calls, unearthed and verified by Storyful, are contained within internet bulletin boards where anonymous users are spreading hate-filled white supremacist messages and even suggesting what to write when nominating Brenton Tarrant for the award.
The chatrooms also provide links to the Australian of the Year’s website and nomination form and, one week on from the terrorist attack, continue to include still photographs of the attack taken from Tarrant’s live feed of his rampage.
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National Australia Day chair Danielle Roche said the National Australia Day Council is appalled by the manipulation of the online nomination process.
The council has vowed that fraudulent nominations will be referred to appropriate law enforcement authorities.
“The Australian of the Year Awards celebrate our shared Australian values. They celebrate people who contribute, who help others, and who promote tolerance and understanding. These fraudulent nominations are abhorrent,” Ms Roche said.
“We have made changes to the online nominations process to identify and quarantine fraudulent nominations.
“The National Australia Day Council extends its condolences to the people of New Zealand, the victims and their families.”
It comes after revelations that New Zealand’s worst terrorist attack is being exploited to produce vile video games in which players shoot worshippers inside Christchurch’s Al Noor Mosque, listen to racist songs, and dance in celebration.
Some users of the platform calling for the Australian of the Year nomination suggest, in hate-filled rhetoric, that Tarrant’s actions, in gunning down 50 people as they worshipped in two Christchurch mosques, were heroic and brave in the face of invading forces and for this reason he deserves an award.
It is also suggested that a copy of Tarrant’s manifesto — his warped document setting out the reasons for his terror attack — would be a nice touch to include, along with anything else that would offend.
One user warns to use public Wi-Fi “or your definitely gonna be looked at by ASIO”.
There is even a joke, within one thread of the conversation, about the media doing a story on how “alt-right trolls played a sick joke on the Australian of the Year nominations.”
The types of bulletin boards which propagate the white supremacist views are often run from places where it is difficult to regulate them or bring law enforcement action.
Associate Professor Nicolas Suzor, from the QUT Law School, who researches governance of the internet and social networks, says regulation is difficult to get right and that bulletin boards like these are able to avoid regulation because they operate overseas.
“Our political leaders have to take responsibility for stoking the fires of hatred for many years for political gain. The mainstream media needs to think critically on the way they report on these tragedies,” he says.
Originally published as Far-right extremists call for Brenton Tarrant to be Australian of the Year after Christchurch massacre
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