The Bondi Beach attack was a moment of horror that demanded sobriety, precision and restraint, yet almost as soon as the first police briefings emerged in Sydney, another, quieter drama began unfolding thousands of miles away, one that had less to do with the identities of the attackers and far more to do with the habits of an information ecosystem that now treats tragedy as an opportunity to rehearse old prejudices and recycle convenient enemies.

Australian authorities were clear from the outset. The attack was inspired by Islamist extremism, targeted a Jewish gathering during Hanukkah, and bore the unmistakable markers of ideological terrorism rather than any sectarian or interstate intrigue. The identity of the perpetrators, including the older gunman’s Indian nationality, was established through official channels. These facts were neither ambiguous nor contested.

Yet facts, as the hours that followed demonstrated, are often no match for vile propaganda.

Within a remarkably short span of time, images and names began circulating online that falsely identified a Pakistani-origin man living in Australia as one of the attackers, exposing him to fear, public vilification and potential violence, while several Indian television channels and social media accounts leaned into speculation that pointed reflexively toward Pakistan, not through evidence but through insinuation, familiarity and the unspoken assumption that such an accusation........

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