(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Australia’s authoritarian eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has ordered U.S. tech platforms to remove footage showing the murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death by a homeless man on a Charlotte train on Aug. 22.
According to the Australian news site news.com.au, Grant sent a letter to Twitter/X on Sept. 26, flagging 23 posts to be censored. The accounts listed include Headline USA, which was the first outlet to obtain and publish the full footage of Zarutska’s murder.
🚨FREE SPEECH UNDER ATTACK🚨
Headline USA is being censored by the Australian government, which recently ordered Twitter/X to geo-block the footage we obtained of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska's murder. https://t.co/ihghtHFFj7 pic.twitter.com/Gz7urpCY0L— Headline USA (@HeadlineUSA) October 13, 2025
Grant, a former Twitter employee, issued a press release about the censorship on Friday, claiming to have received “multiple complaints from Australians about extreme graphic footage appearing online.” She said she also ordered the takedown of footage showing the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and the beheading of Indian-American motel manager Chandra Nagamallaiah, which both took place on Sept. 10.
“eSafety recognises the importance of news reporting and public commentary on current events – especially such tragic, disturbing ones as these – and has no role regulating opinion, commentary or political speech,” her press release says.
“eSafety does, however, have a role in enforcing Australia’s Online Safety Act to keep Australian citizens safe from online harm, especially children. That includes preventing accidental, inadvertent or unnecessary exposure to harmful violent online imagery of real killings where that material has been assessed RC.”
According to Australian political commentator Topher Field, Twitter/X has thus far complied with the takedown notice—geo-blocking the footage of Zarutska’s death to avoid a fine of $825,000 per post per day.
However, the advocacy group Free Speech Union of Australia has challenged the eSafety Commissioner’s ruling.
“Although she claims to be censoring the video, really this is about censoring the tweets, as our submissions make clear,” the pro-speech organization said on Twitter/X.
THREAD: FSU Australia has just filed yet another claim against the @esafetyoffice for her latest attempt to censor free discussion on the news.
In this case, it concerns an attempt to ban anyone viewing the murder of Iryna Zarutska. pic.twitter.com/o9NJaHafqu
— Free Speech Union of Australia (@FSUofAustralia) October 6, 2025
Inman Grant has a long history of trying to censor Twitter and other tech platforms.
In April 2024, for instance, she ordered Twitter to remove content surrounding the stabbing of an Australian bishop—not just from Australia, but from the whole world. Even the stabbing victim opposed her order, and an Australian court eventually ruled that it was illegal.
Twitter/X has not immediately responded to an email query about whether it will challenge Inman Grant’s latest attack on free speech.
The full footage of Zarutska’s murder can be found here.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
