Page 13: Ex-Liberal Party candidate Sean Armistead revs up legal fight against grotty blog

A former Liberal candidate has renewed legal efforts to reveal the creators of a blog that targeted MPs, senior members and staff with what they say are extremely false allegations.

Former Liberal candidate Sean Armistead is trying to unmask those behind a grotty blog dishing dirt on the Liberal Party. Picture: Derrick den Hollander

Former Liberal candidate Sean Armistead has renewed legal efforts to unmask the people behind grotty blog Real Freedom News, which specialised in dishing salcious harming dirt on goings-on inside the party.

Backed by a group of party members, Armistead launched Federal Court action back in February in a bid to find out who ran the sexually salacious site, which now appears to have been erased from the internet as thoroughly as Liberal hopes and dreams of winning a Victorian state election.

In March, Justice Bernard Murphy (himself no stranger to politics as a lawyer at Labor-linked firms Slater & Gordon and Maurice Blackburn) ordered a young Liberal activist to hand over any info he had on who was behind the electronic scandal sheet, including phone numbers, names, addresses, email addresses and even fax numbers. So modern!

Armistead dropped any further pursuit through the courts in April.

Far-right figure Avi Yemini attempted to use the courts to reveal whether the account had ties to the Victorian government. Picture: AAP

But now he’s back, lodging fresh Federal Court paperwork this week to find out who runs the online organ so he can sue whoever it is for defamation.

It all had a similar waft to the man behind the formerly anonymous pro-Labor Twitter account PRGuy17, which dominated social media throughout the pandemic.

Last year, he unmasked himself after far-right figure Avi Yemini attempted to use the courts to reveal whether the account had ties to the Victorian government.

Jeremy Maluta told YouTuber Friendlyjordies in a video released in June last year that he has no PR or social media experience, works in an industry completely unrelated to politics or the media, and has no connections to Dan Andrews.

This does not appear to be the case when it comes to the slimy, now-deleted blog Real Freedom News, with many within the party thinking not just someone, but a small group of people from their own ranks is behind it.

The blog targeted Liberal MPs, senior party members and officials and staffers with what they say are extremely false allegations of sexual misconduct and criminality.

Armistead did not respond to calls when contacted.