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HomeRead, Watch, ListenAustralia
Israel Hamas WarNewsAustralia

No action to stop Hezbollah ally beaming antisemitic and anti-Israel content into Australia

Broadcasting regulations leave government agency unable to remove hate content unless someone complains about it.
Michael Visontay
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ANNIKA WELLS PRESSER

Minister for Communications Anika Wells, November 5, 2025. (AAP/Mick Tsikas)

Published: 2 September 2026

Last updated: 2 September 2026

Australian media regulators say they have no power to stop hate content streamed into Australia and no plans to take actions against a Hezbollah ally broadcasting in Australia.

In JulyThe Jewish Independent revealed Lebanese-based streaming services and satellite broadcasters available in Australia are showing content which supports terrorism and incites hate against Jews and Israel.

Cases included a 12-year-old Lebanese boy declaring he wants to wage jihad to attack Israel, a political commentator denying the scale of the Holocaust, and a call to arms by Hassan Nasrallah, former leader of Hezbollah.

12-year-old boy says he wants to wage jihad
12-year-old boy says he wants to wage jihad

The content was produced in Lebanon and is available in Australia on channels such as NBN, which can be accessed via internet streaming, and Al-Jadeed, owned by the chief political ally of terrorist group Hezbollah, and available on the MySatgo subscription service.

The case has revealed lacunae in Australia’s communications regulations with no regulator prepared to take action to stop these services broadcasting further hate material.

Spender asks Minister for action

The TJI revelations prompted the Federal Member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, to write to the Federal Communications Minister, Annika Wells, asking that the broadcasting regulator take action against the providers of this material.

“That such content exists is, in and of itself, utterly reprehensible; that it can be accessed via satellite TV in Australia should sound further alarms about our regulatory guardrails and enforcement efforts,” Spender wrote.

“Far from being simply offensive, antisemitism and Holocaust denial have been directly linked to the radicalisation of individuals and the incitement of violence against Jewish communities, the scars of which are still evident in my electorate.

“What powers does ACMA have to investigate, require removal of, or sanction the distribution of foreign content that would breach Australian community standards and are those powers currently being exercised effectively?” she asked.

The Minister’s response reflected what the relevant regulatory bodies told TJI: they are governed by narrowly defined parameters that hinder their capacity to take meaningful action over the vast array of foreign language content that enters Australian homes via satellite and streaming services.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said it contacted MySat, and the company replied that Al-Jadeed (which broadcast the child jihad interview) is available on its satellite subscription television service, while NBN (which broadcast the Holocaust denial content and Nasrallah) is only available via its online streaming service. 

ACMA regulates satellite not streaming

ACMA only has jurisdiction over satellite subscription television services but not online streaming services, a spokesman told TJI.

With regard to the child jihad content, a spokesman for ACMA said it could only act if it received a complaint about a program and to date it has “not received any complaints about content broadcast on Al-Jadeed under the Narrowcasting Standard or Narrowcasting Codes”.

The existence of the content that incites hate or terror is not enough to force action by Australian regulators. Action is dependent on citizens willing and able to make formal complaints.

The situation echoes authorities’ failure to act on the repeated hate speech by imams at Lakemba in Sydney’s west in the wake of October 7.

It wasn’t until the Executive Council of Australia Jewry (ECAJ) lodged complaints with the Human Rights Commission that the imams were brought to account. One apologised and another was found guilty of contravening the racial discrimination by a court and ordered to remove his speeches from the internet.

TJI informed ECAJ about the child jihad interview and Holocaust denial to see whether it would lodge a complaint with ACMA but did not receive a reply.

In relation to the Holocaust denial content carried by NBN, Minister Wells’ office told TJI the Office of eSafety has jurisdiction over online (streaming) content.

eSafety focuses on harm minimisation

A spokesman for eSafety said it “can issue removal notices for content that has been or is likely to be refused classification by the Australian Classification Board”, adding that “online services are required to take appropriate steps to safeguard Australians on their services from the most seriously harmful illegal material, such as images or video depicting child sexual abuse or material that depicts or promotes terrorism.”

The key words here are “appropriate steps to safeguard”.  TJI understands that the onus for safeguarding involves the overall body of content that is streamed by a provider, with an emphasis on harm minimisation. If one or two examples are brought to its attention, it would note them but it would only act if it becomes aware of a larger stream of content that contravenes the Online Safety Act. 

Therein lies the underlying problem. The article in TJI referenced three examples, which were independently verified by an Arabic translator. However, several senior figures within the Lebanese and Muslim communities in Sydney have confirmed the existence of many more examples of similar content on these platforms, going back many years.

It would need many hours of research and translation from Arabic to identify and list individually, something few organisations could afford.

Hate content is tip of an iceberg

The content TJI discovered is the tip of an iceberg of radicalisation and incitement of violence against Jews that spreads messages of hate to angry and vulnerable Australians.

The Bondi massacre made clear where extreme views can lead. Australia’s broadcasting regulatory framework needs to tighten the provisions that enable radicalisation to take root.

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About the author

Michael Visontay

Michael Visontay

Michael Visontay is Commissioning Editor of TJI and was Editor-in-Chief from 2017-22. Michael is a former Assistant Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and columnist with The Australian Jewish News. He has written six books, including Who Gave You Permission? with Manny Waks, and Welcome to Wanderland: Western Sydney Wanderers and the Pride of the West. His most recent book is Noble Fragments: the Maverick who broke up the world's greatest book (Scribe, 2024).

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