Journalist Nabil Al-Nashar shares clip of ‘casual racism’

An ABC journalist has called out the “casual racism” he experiences on the job in a new video filmed while working.

A video has exposed the “casual racism” an Australian reporter, Nabil Al-Nashar, experiences as he does his job.

The journalist, who works for the ABC, was reporting on an alleged hit-and-run in Sydney’s South West when he paused to let a man walk past.

The man briefly stopped, looked at the camera, and then made a comment about immigration.

“Because of increased immigration – thanks very much,” he said and then kept walking.

Al-Nashar shook his head in reaction to the comment.

“Great. Immigrants are always the problem. Even when it’s a hit-and-run,” he joked to the camera.

ABC journalist Nabil Al-Nashar shared the video on X. Picture:X/@NabilAlNashar

He looked frustrated as the moment played out in front of cameras. Picture:X/@NabilAlNashar

He posted the video on X and said it was just a “small sample of the casual racism I sometimes cop as an Arab Australian journalist”.

“Notice how polite I was to him before he declared immigrants are the root of all problems,” he wrote. “I was covering a hit and run by the way…but I guess the culprit is always ‘immigrants’.”

The post has been viewed more than 200,000 times and many were quick to throw their support behind the journalist.

Someone wrote that it was a “shame” that so much of this behaviour still exists, while another said seeing the footage made their “blood boil”. Many also commended the journalist on handling the situation professionally.

This isn’t the first time the ABC journalist has spoken out about the racism he has experienced while working.

The tweet has been seen more than 200,000 times. Picture:X/@NabilAlNashar

He was just doing his job. Picture:X/@NabilAlNashar

In December 2022, Al-Nashar revealed on X that a police officer made a racist comment to him while he was reporting on a murder case in Sydney’s Parramatta.

He wrote online that while he was alongside a cameraman, a police officer approached him and asked if he was doing any “suspicious activity.”

Al-Nashar said that he was just covering the murder case, and the officer then asked for him and the cameraman to move to the footpath because they were standing on private property.

Al-Nashar said they immediately followed his instructions, but the police officer hung around and asked what news outlet he worked for.

When he replied that he worked for the national broadcaster, he claimed the officer started “giggling” and allegedly said: “Are you sure you’re not with … Al Jazeera?”

The reporter snapped back and said: “No, what makes you say that?”

The officer allegedly started looking the reporter “up and down” while laughing, before replying: “You’re all casual on the bottom, business up top”.

Al Nashar asked for clarification, questioning whether that was “something AJ journalists are known for”, before the officer walked away from the situation while continuing to laugh.

In the same thread, Al Nashar confirmed that he had made a formal complaint to NSW Police regarding the incident.

“You’d think he had bigger fish to fry … idk maybe … catch and on the loose murder suspect connected to the killing of a 31-year-old woman just this Sunday. Nah big man got racist jokes … because I look Arab,” he wrote.

Originally published as Journalist Nabil Al-Nashar shares clip of ‘casual racism’