Karl Stefanovic, 9’s former star celebrity and Australia’s highest-paid TV anchor, is the latest in a series of Australian media personalities to reveal their sympathies for the far right.
In a podcast interview with former member of the neo-Nazi British National Party Tommy Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon), Stefanovic says he “really admires” his “tenacity and courage”. This came just weeks after Robinson promoted racist riots in Belfast after a man was stabbed, with mobs setting homes, businesses and vehicles alight.
Robinson is only the latest in Stefanovic’s bottom-of-the-barrel guest pool which, so far, has included Pauline Hanson, billionaire Clive Palmer, Nationals leader Matt Canavan, conspiracy theorist dietician Pete Evans, One Nation Senator Barnaby Joyce, former Liberal National Party Senator Gerard Rennick, former conservative prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard amid other billionaire racists and grifters.
Stefanovic, who has since been sacked, is the latest to go down the populist and far-right media route, which has amassed fortunes for the likes of Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro and Nick Fuentes.
Stand-up comedian and radio personality Dave Hughes, who built a career riffing off working-class life in the 1990s, has joined the fray with hysterical claims about how Labor’s mild capital gains and negative gearing changes will impact his extensive property portfolio. He has gone full Hanson blaming migrants for housing shortages and prices.
Radio giant Kyle Sandilands, who was recently sacked from his $100 million contract over allegations of misconduct and bullying by his long-standing co-star Jackie “O” Henderson, has announced he will be producing his own show, free from “censorship”, and signaled that he will be promoting Hanson and Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person.
Even supposedly progressive Charlie Pickering has joined the fray, taking a swipe at Grace Tame, former Australian the Year, in an interview with Avi Yemeni, the far-right former Israeli Defense Force soldier and convicted domestic violence offender. Pickering was joining a broader far-right campaign against Tame for her comments at the anti-genocide rally, called against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The mainstream news’ coverage of Stefanovic’s career shift downplays his political choices. Rather, he is painted as someone who had to chase the algorithms. According to Ed Coper in The Guardian: “He saw the road ahead and headed for the golden pastures of a world controlled not by editors and advertisers but by algorithms and engagement.”
Unsurprisingly, Musk has posted his support for “red-pilled” Stefanovic on X. Musk and his alt-right cohort understand the power of social media to shift public debate and rig the algorithms to promote their right-wing politics. As capitalist governments refuse to take on big tech, nothing seems to stand in their way.
The traditional big business media also plays a critical ideological role in maintaining support for capitalism, even if sections occasionally run liberal or critical of the system pieces. Its promotion of Hanson and One Nation over 30 years has laid the groundwork for the party’s rise in the polls, even aside from the social media algorithm acceleration.
If progressive parties, such as the Socialist Alliance, received the same amount of promotion for their action in support of a big build of public housing and a rent freeze, its support would likely soar.
Australia has one of the most highly concentrated media landscapes in the world. Rinehart recently bought a 10% stake in Southern Cross Austereo, which owns Seven, Triple M and the West Australian. It shows that having economic power alone is not enough — she needs control over media outlets to shape public opinion and, in this case, to grow more support for Hanson.
9’s decision to sack Stefanovic after all these years is significant, because it means the board and he had reached an impasse. Sections of the capitalist media are not convinced — yet — on the need to abandon the pretence of being in the centre and embrace bigotry, xenophobia and misogyny.
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