Hundreds of criminal videos shared online under ‘post and boast’ trend

Hundreds of videos glorifying crimes have been shared online after the Albanese government rejected new laws that could stamp out the trend.

Anti-Israeli vandals are sharing footage of their vile acts online, amid a broader trend of young people sharing videos of illegal activity to gain notoriety.

Hundreds of videos have been uploaded to social media showing illegal acts like theft, speeding and vandalism in the months after the Albanese government rejected legislation to ban the practice.

The Daily Telegraph has seen more than 200 videos uploaded to a single social media account since March 2024 showing youths engaging in illegal acts and boasting about it online for notoriety.

One video showed a masked person driving past police cars before using a weapon to smash the window of one in broad daylight.

There are also concerns the trend could be taken over by anti-Israeli protesters vandalising the offices of federal MPs since the October 7 Hamas attack.

Screen grab of a youth hitting a police car while hanging out the window of a moving car. Picture: Instagram

Screen shot from Instagram video that shows two youths breaking and entering into a property. Picture: Instagram

One chilling video shared online showed two people in balaclavas spray painting Jewish MP Josh Burns’ electorate office with “Zionism is fascism”, starting a fire and smashing windows.

“We must continue pushing the boundary and escalating for Rafah, Yemen, Lebanon and the world. Resistance until victory,” the post read.

The slogan Zionism is Fascism is sprayed on the electoral office window of Josh Burns. Picture: AFP

Others posts, not related to that war, showed young people sneaking into a house and stealing car keys, or speeding and boasting about breaking the law.

The Coalition is arguing the Albanese government is failing to take action on the concerning trend of youth crime, saying it could have been stamped out if Labor had supported its Post and Boast bill in March.

Instead, Communication Minister Michelle Rowland will today (Friday) speak at a roundtable hosted by eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant on the issue of posting and boasting.

Vandals have been targeting the offices of state and federal MPs in the wake of the conflict in Gaza. Picture: AFP

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman said stronger action on posting about crimes online was important to maintain social cohesion.

“Week after week we see thugs cause havoc in our suburbs and towns and then throw it in our face through these shocking videos,” he said.

“But the Albanese government is so weak and disorganised that they can’t do anything to tackle this huge problem in our community.

“This government uses roundtables and committees to disguise their lack of action to crack down on the scourge of post and boast videos.”

This video shows holding up an Audi key for a presumably stolen car.

The same videos shows the car speeding. Pictures: Instagram

Ms Rowland said the eSafety Commissioner worked with digital platforms and police to “remove content that promotes or instructs in crime”.

“We welcome the independent regulator using her formal convening powers to host this important discussion to foster stronger relationship with law enforcement, the industry and community sector and I look forward to participating in the discussion,” she said.

“The Online Safety Act already confers powers on the eSafety Commissioner to have ‘class 1’ content removed. The Criminal Code contains offences that prevent the use of a carriage service – including online – to menace, harass or cause offence, with a maximum penalty of up to five years”.

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