Social media lies can unleash a dangerous contempt for others. We can stop it

Both the Bondi Junction and Wakeley church post-attack escalations had telling similarities, including the inflammatory power of social media. Photograph: Brian Moore/Alamy

The Bondi Junction attacker and the teen who allegedly stabbed the bishop used knives, but judging from the online reaction to both events, many of us have a different weapon in our hands: our smartphones.

Some fault lines simmer under our headlines – landlords v renters, ute drivers v EV advocates, zoomers v boomers. But sporadic moments of horror reveal our trust deficit.