SYDNEY: Australian social media users accused “Islamists” of celebrating the Bondi Beach mass shooting in a Sydney suburb, sharing a video of fireworks that officials said were, in fact, part of Christmas celebrations.
The footage is among several threads of misinformation that have emerged online in the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting at Australia’s most famous surf beach, which authorities have labelled an antisemitic terrorist attack on a Jewish festival.
Gunmen targeted an annual celebration that drew more than 1,000 people to the beach to mark the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, authorities said, killing 15 people and wounding 42.
A video soon circulated showing fireworks lighting up the night sky and, by Monday morning, had spread to India, Britain and the United States.
“(The people) we have let into our country are now setting off fireworks in Bankstown, celebrating the Bondi massacre of our Jewish citizens,” said one Australia-based user, referring to a southwestern Sydney suburb.
Deploying dehumanising language in a post on X that was reposted more than 750 times, the user also asked: “Why aren’t the police arresting (them)?”
Others on Facebook claimed the video showed “Islamists setting off fireworks in Sydney to celebrate the terrorist attack against the Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.”
However, while there were indeed fireworks on Sunday evening around Canterbury-Bankstown — the name of the area comprising several suburbs — a local community organisation said the display was for Christmas celebrations.
“The fireworks were part of our annual Christmas carols event. This event and the fireworks display were planned months in advance,” said the Rotary Club of Padstow, a suburb adjacent to Bankstown.
“They were not in any way related to the terrorist attack at Bondi,” the Rotary Club said, adding that the colourful display takes place every year.
The southwestern suburb of Bankstown is one of Sydney’s most culturally diverse areas, with its website stating that it has residents from more than 120 nationalities — though it has increasingly become a target of anti-immigration rhetoric.
Posts sharing the footage also drew responses from people within the community confirming that it was a local Christmas carols event.
“Purposefully sharing misinformation to spark hate is disgusting. You should be ashamed of yourself,” said one X user from the neighbouring suburb of Belmore.
