ello (@piers)

Update: "[...] Since it was taken down from Stefanovic's platforms, **the full interview has been posted online by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson**. She also posted a segment of the interview on social media platform X. "*It looks like they're trying to sack my good friend Karl Stefanovic for this video with Tommy Robinson!*" she wrote. "*Have Channel 9 become just as bad as the ABC?*" "In the interview, **Robinson makes claims that Australians are losing their culture, that traditional values are under attack, and that the mainstream media is lying to its audience**. "Whilst **Stefanovic doesn't explicitly endorse Robinson's views during the interview**, he does say that he admires his tenacity and courage. Robinson is one of many guests who criticise the mainstream media, despite Stefanovic being **one of Australia's most highly paid television personalities in mainstream commercial media**. "[...] Deakin University academic Matthew Ricketson said Stefanovic's **"star has been waning"** at the Nine Network, where he is one of the highest-paid employees. "*Karl Stefanovic appears to be battling limelight deprivation syndrome*," he said. "*Maybe he has always harboured sympathies for the far-right that are now finding full voice in his new podcast, or maybe he's trying to force his employer's hand for an early payout on his lucrative contract, who knows?*" "Professor Ricketson said the style of the podcast and its promotion was the **"gentlest of platforms for dangerous people like Tommy Robinson"**. "The disintegration of long-standing models of funding journalism had played a part as well, he said. Because digital platforms did not have the high start-up costs of a newspaper or a TV station, well-known faces had an advantage in starting new ventures. "*The fracturing media environment, with fewer trained journalists than a decade or so ago, the demise of most independent fact-checking outlets and the rise of disinformation on social media is bad for democracy*," Professor Ricketson said. "*But it does provide opportunities for people like Stefanovic, who is well known nationally and an experienced broadcaster. He seems keen to surf that noxious wave*." Michael Black, ABC #TommyRobinson #KarlStefanovic https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-24/karl-stefanovic-tommy-robinson-podcast-interview-taken-offline/106834832