Court Orders Former Australian Senator to Remove Anti-Muslim Content

A Queensland Tribunal found former Australian Senator Fraser Anning guilty of engaging in anti-Muslim content on social media. The verdict came after two separate Muslim advocacy groups made complaints about Anning in Australian courts.

Denver – A Queensland Tribunal found former Australian Senator Fraser Anning guilty of engaging in anti-Muslim content on social media. The verdict came after two separate Muslim advocacy groups made complaints about Anning in Australian courts.

Anning, who was a senator from 2017-2019, is a controversial figure in Australia known for holding far-right, anti-semitic, and anti-Muslim views. Most of Anning’s offensive content was posted during his term as senator, on both Facebook and Twitter. The content included insulting memes, links to interviews with Anning, as well as “calls to ban Muslims from Australia,” according to ABC.

One of the controversial posts included a press release that Anning posted shortly after the Christchurch Mosque shootings in New Zealand. After the shooting, which left 51 people dead, Anning blamed Muslim migration for for the horrific massacre.

Muslims in Australia were enraged by Anning’s comments, and two advocacy groups – the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN) and the Islamic Council of Queensland – joined forces to file a formal complaint Anning’s hateful actions and rhetoric.

The groups pointed out that Anning’s more popular posts reached over 315,000 Australian citizens, and many of his followers continued spreading anti-Islamic sentiments throughout the country.

In its verdict in the case, Queensland’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal noted Anning’s fiery rhetoric against Muslims and ruled that his actions constituted an incitement of hatred.

Despite the court’s encouraging ruling, many Muslims in australia don’t think simply ordering Anning to remove his islamophobic posts is enough to stop the former politician from continuing to incite anti-Muslim sentiment. AMAN is currently petitioning Facebook and Twitter to have Anning’s accounts removed from both platforms, and the group is asking for support from the Australian government.

But the two social media giants seem reluctant to follow through with any concrete actions against Anning, and “neither committed to taking the posts down,” ABC reported. Since being elected out of office, Anning fled to the US, where he continues to post anti-Muslim content.