AEC demands Senator Pauline Hanson delete her popular satirical video series
Urgent legal letter to One Nation leader demands she remove South Park-style series for failing to comply with electoral laws.
The Australian Electoral Commission has ordered One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to remove all her satirical political videos from social media for failing to adhere to strict authorisation rules that apply to electoral content.
The Queensland Senator’s office received a letter on Friday, seen by the Australian, from a senior lawyer acting on behalf of the AEC, informing her that her South Park-style videos featuring caricatures of politicians and posted on YouTube and TikTok, “do not contain compliant authorisations”.
The stern warning comes just one week after The Australian revealed the AEC told social media platforms to investigate one of Senator Hanson’s videos dubbed, “Please Explain voter fraud”, which was deleted hours later.
There were concerns it misrepresented the ease of electoral fraud, which was discussed in the two-minute clip featuring caricatures of Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and Labor Senator Penny Wong.
Senator Hanson has so far released 25 satirical episodes and they have attracted millions of views across social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, making light of issues within the nation’s political arena.
‘No skin off our nose’
After receiving the letter Senator Hanson told the Australian, “look, it’s no skin off our nose”.
“We’ll rectify the cartoon series and relaunch them in a commemorative weekend special,” she said.
“If anything, the electoral commission has done us a massive favour and I suspect the commemorative special will amplify One Nation’s message right before early voting begins on Monday.
“It couldn’t have worked out any better.”
The AEC legal letter came just hours after Senator Hanson posted her latest video in the satirical series online, dubbed, “Please explain the media”.
In the letter, the AEC also included an example of noncompliance by Senator Hanson, episode 23, “Please Explain The Media”, which used fictitious characters depicting Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Mr Albanese, and concluded by providing written authorisation from her secretary, Rodney Miles, but failed to have any voiceover authorisation.
Authorisation required
The AEC said in its letter to Senator Hanson, “the authorisation on all videos must be announced and shown”.
Senator Hanson has been warned, “in the event that you do not remove material that is not correctly authorised by 8am on Monday 9 May 2022, the AEC may commence urgent court proceedings seeking an injunction and costs order against you without further notice”.
The videos will be removed, updated and republished with electoral authorisation voiceovers from Mr Morrison, Mr Albanese, Greens leader Adam Bandt and Queensland MP Bob Katter.
Under the Commonwealth Electoral Act, all electoral communications must be authorised to ensure it is clear who is communicating the information to them.
In the letter, it also stated the AEC had contacted Senator Hanson’s office on two prior occasions.
This included on April 8 and then last Friday, following the release of her video on electoral fraud regarding her video that was later removed across the social media platforms.
The AEC‘s director of media and digital entertainment, Evan Ekin-Smyth, said there are important authorisation requirements that must be met.
“We enforce those across the political spectrum,” he said.
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