Back when I lived in Australia, one of my favorite comedies were the weekly satirical mock interviews by John Clarke and Bryan Dawe. Each segment addressed a topical issue, with Dawe acting as the interviewer, while Clarke assumed the persona of a politician or other figure, who typically tries to avoid directly answering any of Dawe’s questions.
Fast forward some decades, and I am hugely disappointed to learn that Bryan Dawe is a raving Israel-hater.
The good news is he got scammed because of it.
When comedian, writer and artist Bryan Dawe came across a post on social media from a “Palestinian photographer” last year, her heartfelt request for help prompted the acclaimed satirist to lend a hand.
The former collaborator and muse of the late John Clarke, who together as Clarke and Dawe poked holes in the nation’s political classes for decades, admits he was taken by the plea for a new camera from the person purporting to be a young woman.
But Dawe’s decision to engage with the woman named Sarah Murtaja would eventually force him to shut down his social media accounts, exposed him to extortion threats and embroiled him in a frustrating battle with Facebook’s owners, Meta.
In May last year, Murtaja claimed in a Facebook post that her camera had been destroyed by an Israeli bombardment of Gaza, before asking for $2800 to replace it.
“ Israel prevented the introduction of financial aid into Gaza, where I created a donation campaign through PayPal, and I hope for the good people to donate even a little bit,” Murtaja claimed in the post.
Her request was accompanied by an image of a damaged Canon 5D III camera along with a portfolio of photographs purportedly taken by Murtaja in the occupied territories.
Dawe told The Age: “ Her photos displayed a human side of Gaza and Palestine missing from the normal media portrayal of death and destruction. The photos told another more heartening narrative of young kids trying to survive and live their lives among the chaos of an ongoing war.”
Dawe, who now lives in the Moroccan port city of Tangier, offered to forge an unlikely partnership with the Palestinian photographer and leverage his considerable public profile in Australia.
I decided that if I could do a collaboration with ‘Sarah’, adding my digital art to the existing photos, I could make prints and gift cards available as a special edition. This would hopefully attract interest to her cause and make up the money she was requesting,” Dawe said.
Hundreds of cards and prints were made up and sold through a Melbourne art shop, each bearing the signatures of Dawe and the woman claiming to be Murtaja. He even created a Vimeo video to promote their venture.
“Having reached more than the amount required – friends also donated to ‘The Gaza Project’ not asking for prints or cards – I was ready to forward the money to the PayPal account,” Dawe said.
But on the day he was due to transfer the funds — about $3000 — Dawe learned from an article posted on Facebook that PayPal did not operate in Gaza.
“Naturally, a very loud bell rang,” the 74-year-old said.
Dawe then did a reverse Google search of the photographs sent by Murtaja and discovered they had been appropriated from Palestinian newspapers or international photography agencies.
After realising he had been duped, Dawe contacted customers and offered refunds, while also notifying several publications that their images had been stolen.
A cybersecurity expert based in Adelaide confirmed in October that Dawe had fallen victim to scammers, who continued to hound him for payment.
A deep-fake sex video that purported to feature Dawe was then used to extort him.
“Tell Bryan if he doesn’t contact him today, he will create a sponsored ad, and send pictures and videos to all Bryan’s friends,” according to messages received by Dawe on May 26. “I advise you to mediate to solve this problem, what do you think?”
For the past year, Dawe has been inundated with messages from friends and followers asking if he’d been hacked.
The satirist said he was forced to close all social media accounts in December last year, and now only uses encrypted message apps to communicate with friends back home.
“I don’t trust anything anymore. I take the Edward Snowden approach towards everything now,” he said, referring to the former US computer intelligence consultant who leaked secrets from the National Security Agency.
But despite shutting down all his social media accounts, Dawe’s name and image continues to be used on fraudulent Facebook posts, which now promote a charity for Indigenous elders.
He’s convinced the same criminal syndicate is responsible, but is baffled how their posts remain online.
Hat tip: Michal
