Old Protest,New Hate:How a 2023 Clip Was Used to Target Muslims After the Bondi Shooting

On December 14, 2025, a mass shooting occurred at a Jewish gathering celebrating Hanukkah at Archer Park beside Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. According to reports, a father-son duo, Sajid Akram (50) and Naveed Akram (24), orchestrated the shooting, which killed fifteen people, including a ten-year-old girl. Sajid Akhram was shot dead by the police, and the surviving suspect, Naveed Akhram, has been charged with fifty-nine offences.

On December 15, a footage swamped social media platforms, alleging to show Muslims celebrating the act of terror at Bondi Beach. However, the video dates back to 2023 and shows an Individual addressing a protest supporting Palestine and it has nothing to do with the terror act.

What is fake about it?

On December 15, a Facebook page by the name “IIT Madras Junta Against Leftist APSC” shared the video with a caption,”The Muslims in Australia are smiling and happy about the Bondi massacre; they even lit fireworks to celebrate. They need to all be deported from every country to Arabic pig countries.”

The text on the video reads,”Imam in Sydney: “I’m smiling!” The video depicts a Muslim cleric addressing a crowd and saying, “I’m smiling, and I’m happy. I’m enlightened. It’s the day of courage. It’s the day of pride, the day of victory. This is the day we have been waiting for.” The crowd can be heard reciprocating the speech with chants of “Allahu Akbar.”

As of December 18, the post has 297 likes, 173 shares, and 69 comments. The caption allegedly linked the video to the Bondi Beach attack.

Believing the video to be true, a user remarked, He needs to be arrested and sent back to where he came from NOW.”

A X user shared the video on December 15, with a caption in Dutch that translates to, “Imam in Sydney: Total victory. You’d think, where are those Muslims to condemn it? No, they’re celebrating after this attack. Nothing is what it seems, all the scum has moved to the Western countries!”

The post garnered 32,200 views, 1,000 likes, and 448 reposts.

A subreddit by the name JewishRightSide, which defines itself as a community for politically conservative, right-wing, Zionist Jews, from all over the world and all levels of observance, also shared the video on December 15, linking it to the recent attack.

A LinkedIn user also shared the video on the same day.

Its fake. Here is how we found out

We geolocated the viral video and identified that the incident shown in the video occurred in Lakemba, Sydney.

A more thorough examination of the viral video reveals that at the time stamp 0:53, the crowd is chanting Free Palestine” slogans. OBC also noted that the video identifies the individual as cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun and bears the logo of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, popularly known as ABC News, indicating that the footage is from a pro-Palestine rally.

Taking a cue from this, we performed a keyword search using relevant keywords such as “Pro Palestine rally,” “ABC news,” and “Lakemba.” This led us to ABC News’s report dated October 9, 2023.

According to the report, the video shows a controversial speech made on October 8, 2023, during a pro-Palestine rally at Lakemba, Sydney, when a crowd gathered in support of the Palestinian’s counter attacks in Israel. The Prime Minister of Australia reportedly condemned the comments that describe the attacks on Israel as an act of “courage” and “resistance”. On October 9, 2023, Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun took to Facebook and outpoured his disappointment at being allegedly misquoted by the media.

Additionally, we found that on October 14, 2025, he condemned the mass shooting at Bondi Beach through his Facebook page. His post reads,”Like many, I’m thinking of the many innocent people killed in a gutless act tonight. May we find strength in unity and mourn as one people at a time when so many want us to be divided. I pray for the families affected and all bystanders and witnesses of these events. May you find healing and solace in the divine.”

The analysis of the viral video suggests that it dates back to an incident that happened on October 8, 2023, and is unrelated to the recent mass shooting in Sydney. Therefore, the claim associated with the video is misleading.