A YouTube video that falsely asserted a wounded survivor of an antisemitic massacre in Sydney was a "crisis actor" who had makeup applied to simulate injury met the platform's standards and will remain online, a Google executive testified Tuesday.
Rachel Lord, the manager for Google Australia, stated at a government inquiry into the spread of antisemitism in Australia that the video had been reviewed at "quite senior levels." The inquiry is examining an attack by two gunmen on a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December that resulted in 15 deaths.
Lord was questioned about a complaint lodged by survivor Arsen Ostrovsky, who said he was targeted online after an image showing blood from a head wound he sustained was posted on X, formerly Twitter, shortly after the attack. A transcript of the video, read aloud to the inquiry to avoid displaying the images publicly, featured four men discussing Ostrovsky's injury. They claimed his bleeding head appeared "very crisis actor-ish" and suggested makeup was used, adding that he was an "intelligence asset" with a "degree in theater."
The video also characterized Ostrovsky as a Zionist and alleged the massacre was a "false flag operation." Police have stated that the alleged perpetrators, father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram, were inspired by the Islamic State group.
Richard Lancaster, the lawyer leading the inquiry's evidence, suggested that the video's continued presence on YouTube indicated a "really serious deficiency" in YouTube's hate speech guidelines. Lord responded that she appreciated Lancaster's "feedback."
YouTube informed Australia's online safety regulator three days after the massacre that the platform was "focused on ensuring Australians and all users around the world have access to high quality information about the tragic events," Lord told the inquiry. Ostrovsky had previously testified that he had been subjected to online hate, abuse, vilification, and AI manipulation since sustaining his head wound on December 14. The inquiry was also shown an AI-generated image depicting Ostrovsky seemingly laughing while fake blood was applied to his head.