ABC managing director David Anderson says doing more to stop the vile abuse on its social media accounts

Managing director David Anderson says the ABC is ‘doing more’ to stop the vile abuse that continues to litter its official social media accounts.

The ABC is “doing more” to stop the abuse on social media of its journalists and guests who appear on its programs, but offensive and racist posts remain littered across the public broadcaster’s official Twitter accounts.

During a Senate Estimates hearing on Wednesday, ABC managing director David Anderson was asked by Liberal MP Hollie Hughes why the national broadcaster didn’t simply disable comments on its official social media accounts as a means of putting a stop to online abuse.

“We take it seriously with regard to having … a cyber town square to be able to hold a conversation,” he told the hearing.

“We are increasingly withdrawing from the platform … and we have been turning off comments certainly on … for instance, Facebook. Part of that is giving victory to the trolls.”

His comments came just hours after The Australian reported racist posts about Stan Grant, a Wiradjuri, Gurrawin and Dharawal man, on at least four ABC Twitter accounts.

The offensive posts remained live on Wednesday afternoon and despite repeated questions from The Australian to the ABC’s communications team, Mr Anderson, and director of news Justin Stevens, this masthead did not receive a reply.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson told Mr Anderson of her long-running concerns about the issues of abuse on the ABC’s social media accounts.

“For a number of years I have pleaded with the ABC to turn off comments on Twitter, I’ve raised specific complaints … that when you promote someone like me going on Q+A we get hit with hundreds of the most disgusting, vile, defamatory comments,” she told the hearing.

Mr Anderson said: “We take it seriously and I should add that our concern is also for the people who come on our programs”.

Senator Henderson countered: “You’re liable for defamation when you are publishing the comments of others …

“This has been such a big issue and has caused so much trauma and you haven’t acted,” she said. “It goes to your mismanagement of your social media policy more broadly.”