Dr Zuleyka Zevallos

Faruqi: there's a clear connection between mainstream media & trolling. He can go weeks or months without attacks, but moment Bolt, Jones & other White male personalities with large audiences write about his work, trolling towards Faruqi swells again. (Similar to Cronulla riots)

Faruqi: in past decade hate crime has skyrocketed in Australia, especially targeting Jewish & Muslim Australians. At the same time, Australian police forces have defunded expertise investigating hate crimes. We lack national resources to systematically collate & analyse patterns

Gorman: trolls use the technique they call "media fuckery" which is how they exploit media Gorman is Jewish-Australian, "I'm from a Holocaust background. Hate crimes don't start with murder. They start with hate speech." Trolls watch & leverage how media report racist acts

Faruqi: the institution of media in Australia is ripe for troll exploitation. It's almost exclusively staffed by White editors and journalists. They play into right wing agenda in the way they report on racism & the uncritical platform they provide White supremacists, incl Hanson

What have employers done to protect Khalik as a young Muslim woman journalist? None were proactive measures: The Australian sent her out with a bodyguard in 1 story. ABC provided 2 counseling sessions, which were unproductive as psychologist didn't understand Khalik's identity.*

Khalik: Proactive measures would mean making structural reform against racism, tackling online abuse systematically, and hiring more racial and religious minorities (and protecting them)

Cost of trolling: Faruqi: has spent thousands of dollars in therapy & made the decision to give up his Twitter, where he had thousands of followers. Gorman: trolling costs $3.7 billion just in time off work & medical costs for survivors. Not including security and other costs

Question from floor: What do panelists think of Egg Boy? Gorman: doesn't celebrate his actions. Trolls are sadists. They want to cause hurt. Can't solve violence with violence. Faruqi: Egg Boy said it best- he's overtaken media interest in the victims. This isn't helpful