AEC has put social media giants on notice over Pauline Hanson’s online satirical video

Facebook and TikTok have pulled a satirical Pauline Hanson video mocking Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong where the pair discuss electoral fraud.

Pauline Hanson announces Raj Guruswamy, and also George Christiansen, to run for the senate, One Nation Pauline Hanson presser, Brisbane City, on Wednesday April 13th – Photo Steve Pohlner.

The Australian Electoral Commission is demanding social media platforms investigate a satirical video posted by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, which features Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong discussing electoral fraud.

On Friday, Hanson released the two-minute animated video dubbed “Please Explain voter fraud”, and it was shared on various social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Reddit.

Facebook was the first of the social media giants who took action and removed the video on Friday and then hours later TikTok did the same.

Twitter also marked Senator Hanson’s tweet as “misleading” on Friday afternoon and removed the ability to reply, share or like the video.

The clip depicts the Opposition Leader sitting up in bed during his Covid lay-off, talking to Senator Wong who brings him soup while he’s sick, and the pair discuss the ease of committing electoral fraud.

In the satirical video authorised by One Nation, Senator Wong hands Mr Albanese a stack of postal votes and says they are “under the names of dead people, fake identities and some were stolen out of letterboxes”.

They go on to discuss how the AEC doesn’t require ID to vote and joke about how people can vote multiple times.

Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain

Episode 24 “Please Explain Voter Fraud”

More from @OneNationAus: https://t.co/hXJmbOoLSJpic.twitter.com/qdDu5BpY4g

— Pauline Hanson 🇦🇺 (@PaulineHansonOz) April 28, 2022

The Australian has been told the AEC will today write to the social media platforms about the video to air its concerns about the claims made about electoral fraud.

The AEC’s director of media and digital entertainment, Evan Ekin-Smyth, told The Australian that while freedom of speech is important, there were wider concerns about Senator Hanson’s video.

“We’re concerned with any communication, regardless of the source, that doesn’t accurately reflect electoral processes or integrity measures we implement,” he said.

“We’re active on social media to accurately reflect how we administer the federal election and refer pieces of online communication to social media organisations for their consideration when necessary.”

Senator Hanson stood by her satirical video, which has already attracted thousands of views, and said she won’t be taking it down from any social media platform.

“One Nation have continuously fought for electoral reform to put a stop to voter fraud in Australian elections,” she said.

“When One Nation pushed for voter ID to be introduced federally, the Labor and Greens party called the plan ‘racist’.

“The Australian Electoral Commission may not want to publicly admit there are problems with Australia’s voting system, but unless we bring it to the peoples attention, nothing will change.”

She said too many marginal seats “run the risk of being won or lost through voter fraud”.

The AEC responded to Senator Hanson’s tweet in which she shared the video and said the “commentary about the electoral system is very disappointing”.

“Registered parties are aware of electoral integrity measures in place including information received/roll objection action taken for deceased Australians, and outbound and inbound postal vote verification steps,” the post said.

In other tweets, the AEC posted: “Aspects of it (the video) are clearly false”.

One person tweeted to the AEC, asking if comedy needs to be funny.

“Indeed. If the ‘comedy’ is misleading you about electoral fraud, the joke is on you,” the AEC posted in reply.

AEC data reveals the rate of voting multiple times during the 2019 federal election was estimated to be at 0.03 per cent.

In 2021 the Coalition dumped plans to introduce rules that Australians must show ID before casting their vote.