Mildura seeks healing after vehicle incident tears hole in community
People and teams moderating social media pages have shared experiences of the complexities of moderating hate speech in light of the Mildura incident.
An incident in Mildura, Victoria, has left the community divided and seeking healing after two 12-year-old boys were struck by a ute in the city's CBD. Community leaders have called for calm amid heated discourse and accusations, with social media pages struggling to moderate the hateful and prejudicial comments that followed. The accused driver, 56-year-old Andrew Brien, pursued the children through a pedestrian-only mall, believing they were involved in vandalism at his partner's real estate business, though the court later found the children blameless.
Mildura mayor Ali Cupper described the incident and its aftermath as a crisis, acknowledging youth crime as a genuine issue but urging people to process their anger in a healthy and civilised manner.
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