A Google executive testified Tuesday that a YouTube video falsely claiming a survivor of an antisemitic Sydney massacre was a crisis actor using makeup met the platform’s standards and would remain online. Rachel Lord, a manager for Google Australia, was speaking at a government inquiry investigating the spread of antisemitism in Australia.
The inquiry, led by lawyer Richard Lancaster, questioned Lord about a video targeting Arsen Ostrovsky, a survivor of an attack during a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December. Ostrovsky had been photographed with a bleeding head wound after the attack, which police allege was carried out by father and son shooters inspired by the Islamic State group. The video in question featured four men discussing Ostrovsky’s injury, suggesting it appeared staged and that makeup was used. They also described him as an "intelligence asset" with a "degree in theater," and claimed the massacre was a "false flag operation."
Lord stated that the decision to keep the video on YouTube had been reviewed at “quite senior levels” and that the platform continually re-evaluates its content policies. She noted that YouTube informed Australia’s online safety regulator three days after the massacre that it was "focused on ensuring Australians and all users around the world have access to high quality information about the tragic events."
Ostrovsky had previously told the inquiry that he had been subjected to online hate, abuse, and AI manipulation following the incident. The inquiry had also been shown an AI-generated image depicting Ostrovsky seemingly laughing while fake blood was applied to his head.