The fatal shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia was, in the narrowest sense, a local tragedy, but within hours of the attack, it became a global political artefact.
Even before the attackers and their motive were officially identified, social media platforms, particularly Twitter (now X) and Reddit, were fueled with speculation, misidentification and ideological framing. This spread of misinformation has fueled a rising wave of populism in Europe, with the voter base increasingly polarised.
In recent years, every act of violence has been rapidly absorbed into a transnational populist ecosystem, stripped of context and repackaged as fodder for populist rhetoric centred on civilisational decline, elite failure or cultural invasion. Bondi, in this regard, was no different. Its speed, scale, and emotional charge, however, offer useful insights into a broader political shift unfolding across Europe.
Ironically, populism is increasingly polarising public opinion in the advanced economies of the single market, most evidently in Germany. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), once dismissed as a protest movement, is polling at historic highs. Unlike many right-wing populist parties elsewhere in Europe, the AfD has not moderated as it has grown. Instead, it has professionalised its organisation while sharpening its message. Strongly supported by Elon Musk and the new US government, the party banks on its anti-immigration stance, which appeals to its much younger electorate. Migration has, in fact, become the party’s unifying axis; a shorthand through which economic anxiety, cultural dislocation and institutional mistrust are expressed.
Platforms such as Twitter/X and Reddit function as parallel political arenas in the digital world, with a key difference: they control who appears on the podium. Their algorithms actively shape what users see, reward and repeat. X privileges immediacy, emotional charge and engagement velocity, pushing content that provokes outrage or affirmation to the widest possible audience, especially when amplified by influential accounts.
Reddit, often treated as more deliberative, relies on ranking systems that elevate posts and comments through upvotes, visibility and repetition, allowing particular interpretations to harden into consensus over time. Together, they form a feedback loop that strongly influences how public opinion takes shape.
In the aftermath of Bondi, this dynamic was visible in real time. X increasingly pushed those posts that framed the incident within broader debates about migration and public safety, often before basic facts were confirmed. On Reddit, sprawling discussion threads analysed the event as further evidence of systemic failure not only in Australia but also in Europe.
This incident helps to explain a missing piece in the populist puzzle that has troubled economists. Despite stabilising economic conditions and stringent border control measures, why do populist parties in Europe continue to gather support? The answer lies partly in how platforms reshape political causality. Events no longer accumulate meaning slowly through institutions and media filters. They are assigned meaning immediately, often by online communities primed to confirm existing fears.
Research into social media algorithms reveals in depth how ideas are reinforced. Studies have shown that Twitter/X disproportionately amplifies polarising political content, with the mainstream political right receiving greater algorithmic amplification in six of seven countries studied. The platform’s owner, Elon Musk, has openly endorsed the AfD and engaged directly with its leadership, dramatically expanding the party’s global visibility. Much of this engagement comes from English-language accounts abroad rather than real German voters, illustrating how national politics are increasingly being shaped by transnational outrage networks.
Reddit operates differently, with its playbook differing from social media platforms. Its large European forums reveal a shift from protest to conviction among populist voters. Many users, especially younger ones, express displeasure with their countries’ political and economic systems. From multiple threads, it appears that voting for populist parties is centred more on the restoration of order, identity, and fairness than simply voting for disruption.
Crucially, this does not mean voters are irrational or manipulated. Many articulate coherent grievances about housing shortages, wage stagnation, industrial decline, and overstretched public services. What changes in a highly charged digital environment is the ordering of these concerns. Migration becomes the master explanation, the lens through which all other frustrations are interpreted.
Europe is far from imminent authoritarian collapse, especially when countries like Germany and France retain strong institutional safeguards. The greater risk, however, is the subtler risk of politics becoming permanently reactive; viral posts defining politics more than deliberation. Policy coherence gives way to symbolic positioning and governance becomes an exercise in managing online outrage rather than addressing root causes.
For Pakistani netizens, watching from the periphery of these debates, there is a lesson here. We, too, are increasingly embedded in global information currents where tragedies elsewhere arrive instantly on our screens, often framed by actors with no stake in local realities. When such is the case, misinformation can circulate quickly, often outpacing clarification and verification. Platforms such as X, Reddit, etc, collapse distance, influencing how narratives circulate and gain attention.
The Bondi incident reiterates how events are processed in the digital age rather than absorbed gradually. How they are processed can matter more than what actually occurred. Europe’s populist surge cannot be understood without recognising the role of these platforms in turning tragedy into ideology.
One of the West’s most successful political ideas, liberal democracy, now faces a challenge rooted in the technological foundations of modern public discourse. The task for liberals and critics alike is to preserve debate and deliberation in proportion. Societies can absorb shocks; they struggle when every shock is treated as proof of existential failure.
The writer is an economist and an educationist.
