ABC warned coronation panellist of potential social media abuse including former Q+A host Stan Grant

The public broadcaster held discussions about potential social media abuse with panellists including Stan Grant in the lead-up to the King’s coronation.

The ABC held numerous meetings with panellists including Stan Grant in the lead up to the controversial King’s coronation coverage, warning that guests could be trolled online and how they should deal with it.

In a question on notice at Senate Estimates in May, Nationals Senator Ross Cadell asked ABC news director Justin Stevens about details around warning guests about potential “online trolling”.

In the response recently published, the ABC conceded that it held discussions before the coronation coverage aired and held “check-ins” afterwards to deal with the fallout including social media abuse. This revelation comes after Grant lashed the ABC for failing to provide any “public support” for him in the aftermath of the coverage.

On the evening of King Charles III’s coronation in May, the ABC aired a 45-minute panel dominated by pro-republican voices that discussed at length colonisation and racism in Australia and blamed the British monarchy for some of it.

The discussion, overseen by executive producer Tim Ayliffe, was led by presenters Jeremy Fernandez and Julia Baird and guests included former Q+A host Grant, a Wiradjuri, Gurrawin and Dharawal man, Indigenous lawyer Teela Reid, a Wiradjuri and Wailwan woman, Australian Republic Movement co-chair Craig Foster and Liberal MP Julian Leeser.

The controversial commentary was aired as dignitaries streamed into Westminster Abbey in London and resulted in the public broadcaster receiving nearly 2000 complaints and a petition supported by 10,000 signatures from Australia and abroad.

Chair Ita Buttrose later told the Australian Monarchist League she was sorry viewers were left disappointed.

The ABC said in its question on notice response that it spoke to, “Grant along with other guests involved in the panel discussion regarding social media abuse”.

“Those conversations included advice about how to deal with abuse if they were targeted,” the response said.

The ABC’s panel during King Charles III's coronation including co-chair of the Australian Republic Movement Craig Foster, Liberal MP Julian Leeser, presenters Jeremy Fernandez and Julia Baird, and Q+A host Stan Grant on May 6, 2023.

Two weeks after the coronation panel aired, Grant, who has since quit the ABC wrote a damning column and said he had been a “media target for racism” and nobody at the ABC publicly supported him.

“No one at the ABC — whose producers invited me onto their coronation coverage as a guest — has uttered one word of public support,” he wrote. “Not one ABC executive has publicly refuted the lies written or spoken about me.

“I don’t hold any individual ­responsible; this is an institutional failure.”

Senator Cadell said he was concerned about the ABC’s handling of the coronation panel ­discussion.

“I find it of great concern that the ABC isn’t able to provide direct confirmation as to whether a risk assessment was completed, and simply deferred to suggest ‘several conversations’ had occurred,” he said.

“Based on what evolved in regard to Stan, it could be construed he was simply used as a living, breathing piece of click bait for ABC ratings.

“If this were the case, the ABC need to spend more time prioritising their people than ratings.”

In the estimates’ response it also said: “Following misleading reports in newspapers and racist abuse of some panellists, including Stan Grant – members of the program team continued to have follow up conversations and “check in” with panellists involved in the show.” The ABC was asked to provide examples of misleading reports but a spokeswoman said “we have no further comment”.

Grant was contacted for comment but did not respond.