Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is moving to criminalise doxing after the ‘Z600 breach’, which saw the names of 600 Zionist creatives leaked, along with transcripts of coordinated attacks on Palestine supporters. Farah Abdurahman adds perspective to the hysteria.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a radio interview with 2GB that he had asked the Attorney-General to bring forward legislation in response to the Privacy Act review, including laws that deal with so-called doxing, which refers to the malicious publication of private information online.
“And let’s be very clear, these are 600 people in the creative industries … who had a WhatsApp group, not heavily political, to provide support for each other because of the antisemitism we’ve seen,” Mr Albanese said.
Texts by one group member calling for coordinated attempts to target Palestine supporters such as Clementine Ford from the leaked Z600 transcript.
But Australian doctors are calling out the hypocrisy after flagrant breaches of their privacy went unchecked.
Dozens upon dozens of physicians had details about their personal lives, including pictures of their children, published online.
Original post response by Dr Jennifer Martinez under her online pseudonym.
Medical doctor and sexual assault specialist Dr Jennifer Martinez said she was attacked and trolled online by Zionists and Israel sympathisers after she responded to a comment about human rights.
Martinez maintains she has never made an antisemitic comment in her life, nor has she commented on the rape allegations of October 7.
“Despite this, I was publicly defamed and called a rape apologist and antisemite on various social media platforms.
“The vexatious claims came amid veiled threats which progressed to the doxing. I wasn’t referred to AHPRA, as I use a pseudonym online, but several of my friends and colleagues were.
“Doctors who have attempted to raise awareness and advocate for basic human rights on behalf of our colleagues in Gaza, and the civilian population who have witnessed a complete collapse of the healthcare system in the strip have come under fire, and have been doxed by colleagues and people we thought were friends. People with whom we had a collegial bond.”
“Given my area of specialty, I was unspeakably offended by the assertions made about my beliefs and my character. My job as a doctor is to advocate for the rights of all people and the protection of health professionals in conflict zones who are afforded protection under International Human Rights Law. Law that has not been upheld by Israel or the US.”
For Martinez, her ordeal began with a closed Facebook page called Grumpy Medical Mums, a private, members-only page where working medical mums can vent.
What resulted was her name, credentials, position and place of employment shared across numerous Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, most notably @Notmydoctor48.
@Notmydoctor48
@Notmydoctor48 Instagram page.
@Notmydoctor48 is an Instagram page set up to dox pro-Palestine doctors and medical students. The owner of the page remains unknown but appears to be run by medical professionals with reference to “colleagues” in a number of posts, including mocking Palestine supporters and colleagues who sought legal advice on social media use.
The page also doxed Arab medical students with inflammatory and misleading insinuations to stifle future career prospects.
“Unfounded claims such as this have very real and serious implications for the young people affected. There was absolutely no context, there were no posts in which this student justified rape. The entire post is inflammatory and defamatory,” Martinez said.
“As a general practitioner and sexual assault specialist, I was absolutely disgusted and offended. The lies and misinformation spread by colleagues were heartbreaking.
“A person’s political ideology should have no bearing on their ability to do their job. As a doctor, insinuations that I am less capable of treating a patient because I chose to use my voice and platform to advocate for human rights is beyond reproach.”
Doctors for Palestine
Victorian-based specialist Dr Sarah Davids who herself was referred to the Health Care Complaints Commission, said a collective of hundreds of doctors from all backgrounds, including those who identify as Jewish and Muslim, formed the Australian New Zealand Doctors for Palestine Facebook group to create a safe and supportive place for medical professionals to discuss the issues in Palestine.
Davids is also one of 40 doctors who were referred to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) for investigation among 60 reports filed on individuals so far.
“This is a human rights issue that is evolving very quickly. We started this page because we needed a forum to advocate for human rights without being silenced by pro-Israeli voices,” Davids said.
But what we saw was infiltration of our group by Israeli sympathisers who appeared to use fake accounts to gain access.
“While nothing untoward was ever discussed within our group, there was a deliberate violation of the membership rules and screenshots of posts and comments were taken to dox and harass our members, threaten medical licenses, and cause intentional reputational and financial harm.”
Healthcare workers fractured
Sarah Davids said there is a recognised worldwide collegiality among healthcare workers that she felt had been fractured by medical institutions such as the Royal Australian College of Physicians, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Australian Medical Association. The latter failed to condemn the targeted attack and execution of more than 400 health professionals, including Gazan doctors, nurses, paramedics, healthcare students and support staff.
“This is in contrast to statements put out to support the people and healthcare workers of Ukraine when the Russia-Ukraine conflict began,” said Davids.
“Hospitals are protected places and even more so during times of conflict as they provide refuge to the injured and displaced. Yet every hospital in Gaza has been raided and bombed. Only nine of 36 hospitals in Gaza have any remnants of functionality left, and Nasser Hospital, the largest of those remaining, is under siege.
“Medical staff are to be protected under international law, yet in Gaza, those rights have not been upheld. It is incredibly disturbing to see the deliberate violation of international humanitarian law, and the lack of condemnation by our government and medical institutions.
“As we speak, children are dying. People are being massacred in Rafah, with hundreds of casualties each day in a designated safe zone where 1.4 million Palestinians were told to flee. Yet our Prime Minister chooses to speak about criminally charging pro-Palestine supporters who were being targeted and harassed but remains completely silent on reinstating UNWRA funding and calling out this genocide for what it is.
We are deeply disappointed at seeing different standards being applied to different groups. It’s been made clear that our rights and our privacy are less important.
In a statement provided to MWM, an AHPRA spokesperson said AHPRA and the National (Medical) Boards recognised the freedom of expression for practitioners and their right to communicate, including advocating for causes via social media, provided their activities do not involve the abuse or discrimination of others, or present a risk to the public. The spokesperson said:
“No formal investigation has been launched concerning any Australian practitioner for expressing views related to the conflict in Gaza to date, and no regulatory action has been taken against any practitioner for expressing views related to the current conflict.
“While everyone has the right to lodge a notification if they are concerned about the social media use of a registered practitioner, there are only limited grounds on which AHPRA and the National Boards would investigate or consider taking action.
“Registered practitioners will not be investigated for holding or expressing their views on social media in ways that do not breach the Codes of Conduct set by the National Boards, and further articulated on the social media guidance provided online.
“Regulatory action (sanctions) may be considered if the way a practitioner expresses their views presents a risk to public safety; risks the public’s confidence in their profession; or requires action to maintain professional standards.”
While the affirming statement from AHPRA brings some sense of relief, Dr Davids said the doxing and threats caused extreme distress to doctors affected.
Examples of doxing on social media.
“I put my family on high alert and even went to my children’s school to discuss their safety,” said Davids.
“We know of at least 16 doctors among our colleagues who have been referred for investigation.
All 16 were women, and 14 of those doxed and referred to AHPRA, were Muslim women.
“I think it’s important to mention that the people leading this human rights advocacy are women, predominantly Muslim women in hijab. Women who have been labelled as oppressed and viewed as defenceless in Western countries. We are now seeing the raw and unrelenting strength, resilience and fortitude of these women who have expressed incredible bravery in the face of oppression.”
“On a final note, I just want to say we are only here because we care about human rights abuses. We are not here to dox people, harass anyone or cause distress. As doctors, we feel we need to push for human rights to be upheld everywhere and for everyone. Human life is precious and irreplaceable.”
Farah is a former political reporter for Fairfax Media. She has almost 20 years of media and communications experience in senior and executive roles working across government, research and innovation, and the private sector.