Mallah was the first Australian charged under terrorism legislation in 2003, later acquitted by a jury on two counts of planning a terrorist act.
He was sentenced to 2½ years’ prison for threatening officials after selling a video to an undercover ASIO agent, who was posing as a journalist.
Almost a decade after his acquittal, in 2015, Mallah appeared on the ABC’s Q+A program where he confronted then Coalition MP Steven Ciobo about his case.
Ciobo said he would be “pleased” to see Mallah out of Australia, and Mallah replied the same to the MP.
Zaky Mallah’s 2015 Q+A television appearance sparked controversy.Credit: Eddie O’Reilly
The segment scandalised the nation, with Coalition politicians up to then prime minister Tony Abbott and their backers in right-wing media accusing the ABC and Mallah of platforming extremism.
Responding to the controversy, Mallah tweeted: “They don’t call me ‘Mr pot stirrer’ for no reason.”
Five years on from the Q+A controversy, and still in Australia, Mallah started SCN to break the boredom of the 2020 lockdowns.
The channel exploded in popularity in 2021 as the feuding Hamze and Alameddine families carried out tit-for-tat shootings across the city.
Police and journalists began reaching out as SCN shared CCTV, screenshots and details about gangsters and attacks.
“Police do reach out from time to time (as well as journos) as they all seem concerned about the Sydney shootings,” Mallah said.
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“I have a strict policy, I never disclose my intel or sources with them. Or anyone.”
Among SCN’s followers, Mallah boasts, are bikies from “all clubs”, their pursuers in Raptor squad, people targeted in drive-by shootings and home invasions, and those targeting them.
“My page simply doesn’t give a f— lol,” Mallah said.
Some of the videos shared on SCN come directly from underworld sources in Australia or abroad, Mallah said.
He summarised Sydney’s latest round of violence, and the videos he is being sent, as “brazen as f—”.
“What started off as the standard drive-by shootings has elevated to the standard of Netflix Hollywood movie-style executions, with kidnappings, burning victims alive in cars, tracking victims with Apple [Air]Tags and the use of AK guns to send out warnings,” Mallah said.
“The shooters were shooting from an AK from inside the car and recording it … No fks given lol.”
Suman Mokhtarian messaged the Instagram account shortly after an alleged attempt on his life in April. He was allegedly murdered in October.Credit: SCN WorldStar
As SCN’s star has risen, so have concerns about the use of smartphones and social media in criminal activity.
The governments of both NSW and Victoria have introduced “post and boast” laws that are designed to make accessing bail more difficult and punishment more severe for young people who film and share their crimes.
“Having videos of crimes has really changed the reporting of offences,” the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research executive director Jackie Fitzgerald told the Herald.
“We definitely see crimes being reported on the news, really because there is video of those crimes,” she said.
“That also can lead to a distorted picture in the community about the level of those crimes that people are experiencing.”
The bureau, on Thursday, published research showing murders, assaults, burglaries and robberies in NSW were at the lowest, or among the lowest, rates in the nation despite the headlines and videos circulating online.
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For Mallah, there’s a balance between “not giving a fk” and staying plugged in.
“Some content that I receive is too graphic to post on social media because of strict guidelines,” he said.
“Such content can only be shared to my inner circle and journos with the SCN Worldstar watermark on it, then it gets forwarded to thousands of people in five minutes.”
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