Australia has rejected a visa application from US conservative commentator Candace Owens for her planned November speaking tour, with Immigration Minister Tony Burke expressing concerns about her potential to "incite discord" in the country, according to the Guardian. The decision, announced on Sunday, comes after scrutiny of Owens' past controversial statements, including comments about the Holocaust and various minority groups.

"From downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about [notorious Nazi doctor Josef] Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery, Candace Owens has the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction," Burke said in a statement. "Australia's national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else."

BREAKING: The Australian government just denied Hitler fan and Holocaust denier Candace Owens a visa

LMAOOOOOOOOOO Owned pic.twitter.com/0O3HQdSf8d

— Drew Pavlou (@DrewPavlou) October 27, 2024

 The US media personality had scheduled a five-city speaking tour across Australia, with events planned in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Ticket prices ranged from $95 for general admission to $295 for VIP meet-and-greet sessions, with exclusive private dinner options priced at $1,500.

The speaking tour's website had promoted the events as appealing to "audiences seeking alternative viewpoints and in-depth discussions on pressing political and social topics," noting that "Owens' provocative approach often sparks debate, making the event a must-see for those who enjoy candid conversations about controversial issues."

The US Anti-Defamation League has previously criticized Owens for promoting antisemitic rhetoric, while LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD has highlighted her statements regarding transgender issues. During a July broadcast, Owens questioned documented Nazi medical experiments on prisoners, describing such accounts as "completely absurd" and "bizarre propaganda."

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson supported the visa denial, having previously described Owens as "a dangerous antisemite and a conspiracy theorist" during an interview with Sky News.

Zionist Federation of Australia Chief Executive Alon Cassuto welcomed the government's decision. "Bigotry and antisemitism are unacceptable in any form, regardless of whether they originate from the far left or right," Cassuto said. "For the sake of our nation's social cohesion, there is no place in Australia for Candace Owens."

The tour promoter, Rocksman, and Owens' management team did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Owens has not addressed the visa rejection on her social media platforms.

During Australia's COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Owens had suggested that the US military should invade Australia to "free its people suffering under a totalitarian regime," while drawing comparisons to Hitler, Stalin, and the Taliban.

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The Oversight Board for Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has concluded that the phrase "From the River to the Sea" is not automatically considered hate speech when used in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reported NBC News. Recommendation gives backing to Meta's policy of allowing use of phrase.

The board's ruling stemmed from three separate cases on Facebook where users included the phrase in their content. In each instance, the post was reported for violating Facebook's hate speech policies, with complainants arguing that the phrase calls for the destruction of Israel. Facebook chose not to remove the posts, a decision that was ultimately upheld by the Oversight Board.

Considering how many, many Jews and Israelis view the phrase 'From the River to the Sea,' it's clear that harm is meant by using it as a slogan.

If you didn't mean harm, you'd use a different phrase.

Meta's Oversight Board got this one very wrong.https://t.co/wkilQU9CTq

— Jeremy Goldman (@jeremarketer) September 4, 2024

"The Board finds there is no indication that the comment or the two posts broke Meta's Hate Speech rules because they do not attack Jewish or Israeli people with calls for violence or exclusion, nor do they attack a concept or institution associated with a protected characteristic that could lead to imminent violence," the board stated in its 32-page decision. "Instead, the three pieces of content contain contextual signals of solidarity with Palestinians."

One of the cases involved a post that garnered approximately 8 million views, depicting the phrase created with floating watermelon slices, a symbol often associated with pro-Palestinian activism. This post alone received 951 reports from 937 users, according to the Oversight Board.

"From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate." pic.twitter.com/2kXWHP1Jbj

— ~Jachnun Supremacist~ נפתלי בן מתתיהו (@JachnunEmpire) December 31, 2023

 The phrase "From the River to the Sea" has been a subject of controversy, particularly in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza. While Hamas leadership and some pro-Palestinian activists have used the phrase to advocate for a Palestinian state encompassing the entire region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, others argue that it represents general solidarity or a call to return to pre-1967 borders.

The Oversight Board acknowledged the phrase's multiple interpretations in its ruling. "Because the phrase does not have a single meaning, a blanket ban on content that includes the phrase, a default rule towards removal of such content, or even using it as a signal to trigger enforcement or review, would hinder protected political speech in unacceptable ways," the board concluded.

However, the decision was not unanimous. A minority of the board's 21 members dissented, arguing that following the October 7 attacks, the phrase's use "should be presumed to constitute glorification of" Hamas "unless there are clear signals to the contrary."

Meta, responding to the ruling, stated, "We welcome the board's review of our guidance on this matter. While all of our policies are developed with safety in mind, we know they come with global challenges, and we regularly seek input from experts outside Meta, including the Oversight Board."

The decision comes amid ongoing controversies surrounding Meta's content moderation policies related to the Israel-Hamas war. Human Rights Watch has accused the company of censoring pro-Palestinian voices, while others have claimed that Meta has suppressed pro-Israel content.

The Oversight Board, created by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2019, serves as an independent body to review content moderation decisions on Facebook and Instagram. Its rulings are generally binding on Meta-owned platforms.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) has slammed Meta's Oversight Board for its view that the phrase "From the River to the Sea" should not lead to content removal because it does "not break Meta's rules on Hate Speech, Violence and Incitement or Dangerous Organizations and Individuals."

"'From the River to the Sea' is a slogan created with the sole vision of destroying the national homeland of the Jewish people," CEO of CAM Sacha Roytman Dratwa said. "It is genocidal in intent and meaning, and is not a legitimate political or ideological vision, because it targets the one Jewish State and its inhabitants for destruction."

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The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany has launched #CancelHate, a digital initiative in which Holocaust survivors worldwide read antisemitic comments that proliferate widely on social media and respond.

Holocaust survivors are participating in the #CancelHate campaign to show hate will NOT win. Survivors who read the vile social media posts that deny the Holocaust are putting their discomfort aside to ensure generations understand the harm of unchecked hatred. #WordsMatter

This… pic.twitter.com/Gyf01KrJKR

— Claims Conference (@ClaimsCon) May 2, 2024

In stark videos, the survivors steel themselves to read slurs like "The Holocaust was a lie – Stop spreading misinformation" and "There were no gas chambers...I have the same goals as Hitler: Exile the Jews and keep their degeneracy out of society." They then counter with searing testimony validating the atrocities they endured and witnessed firsthand.

"I survived the Holocaust, but 13 members of my immediate family were murdered because they were Jewish," states Abe Foxman, a US survivor participating in #CancelHate. "Holocaust denial on social media isn't just another post...Posts that deny the Holocaust are hateful and deny the suffering of millions."  

The potency of the campaign lies in its undeniable truth emanating from the last remaining survivors. As Hedi Argent, a UK citizen, recounts, "My family was turned out of our home because we were Jews...17 members were murdered...The Holocaust did happen."

Their voices take on profound urgency amid studies showing Holocaust knowledge waning perilously among younger generations, leaving them vulnerable to distortions. Nearly half of US millennials and Gen Z report seeing denial rhetoric online, mirroring trends in other countries like the UK.

"I could never have imagined...Holocaust survivors confronting such a tremendous wave of denial and distortion, but sadly, that day is here," laments Greg Schneider of the Claims Conference. "We saw what unchecked hatred led to – words of hate and antisemitism sparked deportations, gas chambers, crematoria."  

In a world where social platforms enable hatred to spread unabated, this campaign harnesses survivors' firsthand experiences as an indomitable barrier against those seeking to rewrite the past. "Words matter," affirms German survivor Herbert Rubinstein. "Six million were murdered...I am fighting Holocaust denial with all my might and strength."

For 30 days, #CancelHate's videos will tell survivors' truths to those propagating revisionism and hate under the virtual cloak of anonymity. Their words serve as a defiant rallying cry for a world still susceptible to the dangerous consequences of allowing hate speech to go unchecked.

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Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel will travel to the United States next week, where he will meet with senior officials and professionals to discuss, among other things, the efforts to regulate global social media companies operating in Israel, including Facebook, Israel Hayom learned Monday from sources involved in the matter. 

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Facebook has long been criticized for failing to properly remove harmful content posted on its platform, such as hate speech and misinformation. 

Most recently, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that the media giant "was aware that its Instagram app can cause some teen users harm" and a former manager alleged in a testimony that Facebook fueled the Capitol riot.

Whistleblower Frances Haugen told members of the US Congress that whenever there was a conflict between the public good and what benefited the company, Facebook would choose its own interests.

In Israel, Hendel currently leads efforts to impose restrictions on the media giant and compel it to reveal its censorship policies. Similar restrictions might also apply to other global tech companies, such as Google and Microsoft. 

The communications minister also seeks to make them liable for incitement and libel posted on their platforms. Currently, none of the companies are legally liable for false or harmful content published on their sites.

The unprecedented move could cause a rift between Facebook and Israel. The social media company might even go as far as ban Israeli news agencies from posting content on its site, as it did in Australia in response to proposed legislation that would require platforms to pay publishers if news content was posted on their sites.

Nevertheless, since Facebook is a publicly-traded company whose value might be dramatically affected as a result of the ban, the social media giant will most likely not take such measures.

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The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees launched an investigation into 10 of its teachers and employees who had been accused by the watchdog group of promoting hate speech and antisemitism online.

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Last week, the Geneva-based nongovernmental organization UN Watch said in a report that over 100 UNRWA staff members had publicly promoted violence and antisemitism on social media. The report, titled "Beyond the Textbooks," listed 22 recent cases of incitement by agency staff online, violating UNRWA's own "zero-tolerance policy for hatred."

For instance, UNRWA math teacher in Gaza, Nahed Sharawi, posted a video on social media of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler with "inspirational" quotes to "enrich and enlighten your thoughts and minds," and UNRWA teacher Husni Masri shared antisemitic conspiracy theories that Jews controlled the world, were responsible for the coronavirus pandemic and sought to destroy Islam.

In response, the UNRWA published a statement on Sunday in which it called UN Watch "an organization with a deep history of unfounded and politically-driven assertions against the agency."

It also said that only 10 of the 22 people mentioned in the report were associated with the agency, against whom they immediately launched a "thorough investigation" to determine whether they in fact "violated the agency's social media policies."

The agency further claimed that the watchdog was deliberately exaggerating the severity of the matter.

"In previous reports over a five-year period, UN Watch identified a total of 101 cases where UNRWA personnel allegedly posted content on social media that was in breach of its Regulatory Framework," it said.

"To suggest that hate is widespread within the agency and schools is not only misleading and false but validates sensationalist and politically motivated attacks that deliberately harm an already vulnerable community: refugee children.

The statement said that "UNRWA's mandate is to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to over five million Palestine refugees," emphasizing that the agency invests  immense efforts in training its personnel to promote their understanding of neutrality and ethics training."

UN Watch's Executive Director Hillel Neuer shot back, saying that UNRWA was not addressing the bigger picture. "The fact that UNRWA's education system is repeatedly hiring and putting in the classroom teachers that admire Hitler and propagate hatred and terrorism," is the problem, he said.

"Deleting a post on Facebook does not remove the hate in those teachers' hearts and minds. It does not solve the problem. Palestinian children deserve to be fully protected from teachers of hatred and racism. Zero tolerance in schools means you remove racists from the classroom, period."

i24NEWS contributed to this report. 

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The company removed about 22.5 million posts with hate speech on its flagship app in the second quarter, a dramatic increase from 9.6 million in the first quarter.

The company also deleted 8.7 million posts connected to "terrorist" organizations and 4 million pieces of content from "organized hate" groups.

Facebook said it was expanding its hate speech policy to include "content depicting blackface, or stereotypes about Jewish people controlling the world."

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Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis and chief rabbi of Moscow, said online radicalization was giving rise not only to more anti-Semitic incidents, but also hate crimes directed at Muslims and others.

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"The strength and power given by social media to people on the margins of society is causing chaos," he said, citing attacks in New Zealand, Germany and the United States.

"Last year, 2019, there were quite a few attacks against houses of worship – mosques, synagogues and churches," he said.

The event, sponsored by Goldschmidt's organization and the World Jewish Congress, came on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which was being attended by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, though he was not present for the discussion.

Goldschmidt said that with legal protections for free speech, it was hard for governments to police hate speech effectively, but that private companies had more flexibility.

"A private company that gives a platform, whether it's a theater or a Facebook page, definitely has the ability and the right to limit speech," he said.

Michel Friedman, a prominent German Jewish leader, said, however, that governments could do more if they made the issue a priority, saying that authorities have been effectively combating online financial crimes.

"If we are able when it's about the economy to react very quickly on cyber crime, why not hate crime?" he said.

But regulating what can and can't be said is a thorny issue, said Alex Samos, former chief security officer of Facebook.

"Discussions about what is lawful or not lawful speech are extremely complicated," he said.

Samos noted that there are many different layers to Facebook – private pages, public groups, private groups and the person-to-person Messenger application which, to monitor, would be akin to listening in on private phone calls.

"I don't think that anybody here would say that Deutsche Telekom should listen in to every phone call in Germany, and if you say something racist someone pops in and tells you you're wrong," he said.

He also stressed that social media had given voice to far more than just hate speech, saying that the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements in the US were able to address long-standing issues of racism and sexual harassment and sexual assault only because a broader group of people were able to speak out.

"Those two problems existed 30 years ago, the difference is that the people who decided what political topics were acceptable in the United States were 40 middle-aged white men," Samos said.

"People love to focus on the negative impact of new things, but there's a huge amount of positive impact from allowing a much broader set of people to speak in a democracy," Samos added.

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