Linda Reynolds denies any link to ‘bot’ social media accounts
Linda Reynolds’s lawyers asked a judge to issue a warning over potential contempt of court after hundreds of ‘bot’ accounts targeted the senator’s defamation action against Brittany Higgins.
An infestation of social media “bots” weighing in on Linda Reynolds’s defamation claim against her former staffer Brittany Higgins has prompted a warning over potential contempt of court.
As former defence and foreign minister Marise Payne became the latest political figure to testify, witness appearances in the West Australian Supreme Court were temporarily interrupted by legal discussion around hundreds of posts found on X, the platform formally known as Twitter.
Martin Bennett, representing Senator Reynolds, on Tuesday submitted a 15-page document of X posts that he said showed signs of being published by bot accounts from overseas.
He asked the judge hearing the trial, Paul Tottle, to make an order warning about possible contempt.
At least one message highlighted by Mr Bennett was critical of Justice Tottle’s decision to allow Senator Reynolds’s former chief of staff Fiona Brown to give written evidence rather than testify in person. Ms Brown has been excused from taking the stand due to ongoing ill health.
While Justice Tottle noted that a warning about contempt of court could be of little purpose, given many of the accounts appeared to be based overseas, he made a statement to the court reminding the public that it was a criminal offence to try to interfere with those involved in administration of justice.
“Any attempt to interfere with the administration of justice in this case by intimidating, frightening or seeking to deter a witness or anyone else involved in the administration of justice in the context of this case will be punishable as a contempt of court,” he said.
“To state the obvious, all procedural and substantive decisions in this court are made by me. I do not follow … X and any attempts to influence me by making publications or posts on that platform will be an exercise of futility.”
The bot outbreak has prompted speculation about who, if anyone, would have paid for the messages. X users had earlier identified dozens of apparent bot accounts, most of which had been established in the past month and had a handful of followers,which published similarly worded messages of support for Senator Reynolds.
While some online supporters of Ms Higgins pointed the finger at Senator Reynolds over the bot posts, the senator emphatically denied having anything to do with the publications. “Senator Reynolds was unaware of these bots. The idea Senator Reynolds would engage with something like this is preposterous,” the spokesman said.
“She is not behind these bots and doesn’t know who is.”
Prolific X user and Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court questioned who could be responsible, raising a possibility those behind the posts may have even been supporters of Ms Higgins trying to discredit the senator. “i really dont think linda would do anything so silly. thick-as-bricks young lib? or could it be a ‘false flag’?” he posted on X.
Earlier, Ms Payne told the court of the “enormous amount of pressure” on Senator Reynolds as she was questioned in parliament over her handling of the Higgins saga. “I recall very clearly seeing the physical trauma, from a combination of shaking, of what I regarded as elevated breathing, to physical distress where I could see her holding on to her desk tightly and trying to control the physical effect this questioning was having on her,” she said.
Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins and her husband, David Sharaz, over social media posts she says implied she had mishandled Ms Higgins’s rape allegation and had harassed her former staffer.
Federal Court judge Michael Lee found in April that, on the balance of probabilities, Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins. He has always denied the allegations and is appealing the decision.
A long-term friend of Senator Reynolds, Louise Patroni, described how her condition worsened after she failed to secure a role in the shadow ministry after the 2022 federal election.
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