ABC’s flagship program Four Corners puts a stop to comments on post about Fox News ‘expose’
ABC flagship puts abrupt halt to comments on its social media platforms amid backlash to its Fox News story.
The ABC’s flagship program Four Corners has stopped viewers from posting comments on its Facebook and Twitter accounts after it copped intense criticism for its ‘expose’ into Fox News that aired on Monday night.
The publicly-funded broadcaster put an abrupt end to social media users commenting on the program’s online accounts about the first episode of the two-part series, blaming breaches of their social media guidelines for the move.
The ABC is rejecting the suggestion it is a deliberate move to censor debate about Monday’s night’s controversial episode.
The livestream comments were switched off “once the livestream had finished and a moderator was no longer available”.
“This is normal practice and nothing different occurred with this program,” an ABC spokeswoman.
Despite this comments remained open on other social media posts about previous episodes of the program.
Four Corners has left dozens of comments on its Facebook page on posts made in the past few days promoting the two episodes, while opting to delete many other comments.
“We’ve had to remove a large number of comments that breach our terms of use and we’ve closed comments on this post for the time being,” an administrator on the page wrote.
“We may re-enable comments later when moderation support is available.”
Some of the posts that remain online including Laura who wrote: “In next edition ‘How Australia’s taxpayer-funded ABC only represents 1/4 of their citizens and seems to only employ morally self righteous hosts!’”
While Scott wrote, “LOL poor old ABC still suffering from Trump Derangement. Stop wasting taxpayer’s money on your psychosis”.
The two-part series includes interviews with former disgruntled employees of Fox News in a bid to smear the Murdoch-controlled broadcaster and makes a baseless claim in its first episode that the news outlet has a “role in amplifying Trump’s lies that the election was stolen from him”.
ABC reporter Sarah Ferguson was the journalist leading the series titled, The Big Lie, but the program had many glaring omissions and failed to include any groundbreaking revelations.
In another post made by the official Four Corners Twitter account on Monday afternoon it has also stopped the ability for anyone to make comments.
More Coverage
BBC apologises to staff over Russell Brand sex complaints
Some employees had stayed silent about the behaviour of the comedian and actor because they believed he ‘would always get his way’, a BBC director said.
Questions about ABC platforming ‘radical fringe Jewish voice’
Jewish groups have questioned why the national broadcaster has chosen to platform and ‘mainstream’ a Jewish ‘radical fringe voice’, in its coverage of anti-Semitic events in Sydney.