Melbourne Protest Listing Offers $100 to Attend Rally

A listing on a popular odd-jobs site offered $100 (US$70) for individuals to attend an anti-Israel rally in Melbourne, prompting questions about claims of paid protest participation.

Many Australians use the Airtasker website to recruit helpers for specific tasks—often jobs like helping move furniture, clean a house or build a website.

But in early February one advertisement appeared on the site, simply labelled “protest at Flinders St station.”

The advertiser, “Jaime Y,” offered $100 for applicants to attend the Feb. 9 rally against visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Applicants were told they would need to spend at least one hour at the rally, and submit three photos before being paid—one at the start, one in the middle, and one at the end. They were also told to make a sign.

Jaime Y’s listing stated: “Israel’s genocidal PM is coming to Melbourne and our government is rolling out the red carpet for him.”

“There will be protests in every capital city … unfortunately I’m unwell and can’t make it,” the advertiser wrote.

“So, I’m looking for five people to stand in my place.

“This is a peaceful demonstration and you must act peacefully.”

A respondent known on the site as ‘Riley V’ is listed as having completed the task, with Jaime Y saying they “really appreciate” the help.

Another review left for Jaime Y mentioned having had the opportunity to learn something new.

As of Feb. 18, the listing appeared to have been removed from the platform.

It is not clear how many people could have been hired through the ad.

The Epoch Times contacted Airtasker for comment.

Herzog’s visit to Australia was made with the support of the Australian government as a gesture of solidarity with victims of the Bondi shooting in December, but pro-Palestine protesters disagreed with the visit and called for the president to be banned from Australia.

Activist Groups Unlikely to Pay, Says Expert

Emeritus professor of Social Sciences at the University of Wollongong Brian Martin said paying individuals to attend protests was not common practice among activist groups.

“Having studied protesting for many years, the only examples of paid protesting I’ve heard about anywhere in the world are when governments or corporations are the ones paying, to make it seem like citizens support them,” he told The Epoch Times.

“Activist groups—environmental, peace, human rights etc—do not need to pay anyone to protest, and most of them don’t have enough money to do it anyway.

“If such groups were exposed for paying protesters—as in the derogatory label ‘rent-a-crowd’—they would be discredited. It’s possible that opponents might try to frame them for paying protesters.”

International Trend

Claims of paid protesters have surfaced internationally. In May, 2025, The Epoch Times documented an unusual change in the types of protesters attending pro-Chinese Communist Party rallies.

Instead of mostly consisting of clusters of Chinese individuals, protest groups started to emerge with a different demographic profile—small groups that included non-Chinese participants.

In one instance, a small group of primarily non-Chinese people appeared alongside a Falun Gong parade in New York City.

The group was seen holding banners similar to those used by Chinese state media, sometimes taking instructions. On one occasion, a man was reportedly heard telling a police officer he had been paid US$200 to attend.

Interviews conducted by The Epoch Times indicated some participants said they had attended because they needed the money.

In June, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed there were paid activists participating in anti-ICE demonstrations in the United States.

“These are paid insurrectionists, these are paid troublemakers, they get money,” he said.