Arabic version: تحقيق يبحث منحة لشبكة بودكاست

According to ABC News, the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion heard that Sydney-based OnePath Network, whose parent organisation received a Commonwealth social cohesion grant, interviewed American livestreamer Sneako before he was deported from Australia and given a lifetime ban.

Public documents show OPN Media Limited received $308,000 from the Department of Home Affairs through the independent multicultural media transformation and sustainability program. The funding is intended to support social cohesion and the sustainability of independent multicultural media outlets. OnePath, an Australian Islamic-themed podcast network established in 2014, published its Sneako interview in June.

Sneako, whose real name is Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy, was deported in May after initially being granted a visa. The inquiry heard that he had led a crowd in a chant invoking violence against Jews three weeks before arriving in Australia and had published material presenting Chabad as a criminal conspiracy. The Anti-Defamation League has described him as a prominent vector for antisemitism, white supremacy and misogyny in the manosphere.

During the hearing, counsel Nicholas Bender SC asked Department of Home Affairs secretary Stephanie Foster whether platforming Sneako was an inappropriate use of grant money. Foster said she was unaware of the screenshot of the grant and said the department would investigate information suggesting a grantee had acted inappropriately, while declining to comment further so as not to prejudice that process.

OPN Media said it was one of 60 recipients in the grants scheme and took the commission’s work and its editorial responsibilities seriously. It said questions put to a witness were not commission findings. The organisation also said its channel disclaimer made clear that hosting guests was not a blanket endorsement, and said it rejected hate speech, including antisemitism.