March for Australia Organizer Bec Freedom Faces Backlash Over Anne Frank Comment
A shocking comment about Holocaust victim Anne Frank has thrust March for Australia organizer Bec Freedom into controversy, igniting outrage across the U.S. and beyond. The Sydney-based activist’s denial of the authenticity of Frank’s diary has drawn sharp criticism, casting a shadow over the anti-immigration rallies she helped lead.
The Controversial Comment
During an X Spaces livestream on August 1, 2025, Bec Freedom, whose real name is Rebecca Walker, recounted a conversation with her late father, Peter George Walker. She claimed he told her as a high school student that Anne Frank’s diary was “bullsh,” a view she appeared to endorse. “I thought he was a racist bastd at the time, but now I’m starting to question,” she said, sparking immediate backlash.
The comment, reported by the Daily Mail, drew condemnation from Jewish community leaders. One prominent figure told the outlet, “When the organizer of a rally in our streets denies the testimony of Anne Frank, we are not talking about patriotism, we are talking about extremism that can end in tragedy.” Anne Frank, who died at 15 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, wrote her diary between 1942 and 1944, a document verified as authentic by the Netherlands Forensic Institute in the 1980s.
Background on Bec Freedom and March for Australia
Bec Freedom, a 36-year-old Sydney resident, emerged as a key organizer of the March for Australia rallies held on August 31, 2025, across major Australian cities. The protests, which drew an estimated 52,400 participants, aimed to oppose mass immigration but faced accusations of promoting white nationalist and far-right ideologies. Freedom, who uses a pseudonym to protect her identity, has ties to groups like the National Workers Alliance, which advocates preserving “European culture.”
Her involvement gained traction after two viral TikTok videos by the account @aussibireyt called for Australians to “take this country back.” Freedom’s rhetoric, including leaked audio where she equated “Australian heritage” with “white heritage,” has fueled claims of extremism. She has denied direct links to neo-Nazi groups like the National Socialist Network (NSN), though their presence at the rallies, particularly in Melbourne, intensified scrutiny.
Public and Expert Reactions
The Anne Frank comment sparked a firestorm on social media. X users labeled Freedom’s remarks “disgusting” and “dangerous,” with one post stating, “Holocaust denial from a rally organizer? This is a new low.” Others linked her views to broader far-right narratives, with a Reddit thread noting her history of sharing white supremacist content online.
Experts condemned the rhetoric. Dr. Kaz Ross, an extremism researcher, told ABC News that Freedom’s comments reflect a strategy to mask far-right agendas with patriotic language. Historian Dr. David Cesarani, in a prior analysis of Holocaust denial, called such claims “a deliberate distortion of history to push hateful ideologies,” a sentiment echoed in reactions to Freedom’s statement. The Australian government, including Ministers Tony Burke and Anne Aly, denounced the rallies as “far-right activism grounded in racism.”
Impact on U.S. Audiences
The controversy resonates in the U.S., where debates over free speech, extremism, and historical accuracy are highly charged. Anne Frank’s diary, a staple in American school curricula, is a powerful symbol of Holocaust education, with over 1 million copies sold annually in the U.S. Freedom’s remarks could fuel discussions about combating Holocaust denial, especially amid rising antisemitism, with the Anti-Defamation League reporting a 140% increase in incidents since 2023.
The incident also highlights the global reach of far-right movements, which have gained traction in the U.S. through similar anti-immigration rhetoric. For American audiences, it serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of coded language in public discourse, potentially influencing political and social debates ahead of the 2026 midterms. The controversy may also prompt U.S. educators to reinforce Holocaust education to counter such narratives.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
Bec Freedom’s Anne Frank comment has cast a harsh spotlight on the March for Australia rallies, exposing their ties to extremist ideologies. As investigations into the movement’s organizers continue, the backlash underscores the need for vigilance against Holocaust denial and divisive rhetoric. For the U.S., this incident reinforces the importance of historical truth in combating hate, with implications for education and public policy. Freedom’s future role in activism remains uncertain, but the controversy has cemented her as a polarizing figure in a global debate.