How Pauline Hanson courts UK’s far-right – and builds a global brand – with ‘pseudo events’ and publicity stunts | One Nation

Pauline Hanson’s highly publicized meetings with controversial far-right figures in the UK will draw international attention to her content and continue to build the global brand – and far-right experts say this is by design.

The One Nation leader is visiting with his private secretary James Ashby on a “fact-finding mission” marking some of the country’s most divisive personalities.

It came as opposition leader Angus Taylor warned disgruntled voters “looking to strike matches” that backing One Nation “is not worth the endless pain that will follow”.

“They are a one-man show. Their policies are inconsistent,” he told ABC radio on Friday.

Hanson’s meet-and-greets so far have included radical-right royalty-turned pop star Holly Valance, Reform UK officials and far-right activist and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson.

The Queensland senator will also appear in an upcoming long-form podcast with Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Yaxley-Lennon is perhaps best known in Australia as the man whose appearance on Karl Stefanovic’s podcast in June led Channel Nine to sever ties with its former golden boy.

Yaxley-Lennon is an anti-Islam, far-right political activist known for his role in major anti-immigration marches in the UK and a vocal supporter of Russia, including the invasion of Ukraine.

Beyond his political views, Yaxley-Lennon has a lengthy criminal record. The 43-year-old man was given a five-year anti-stalking order and twice convicted of contempt of court.

He was jailed in 2024 for repeating false allegations about a 15-year-old Syrian refugee despite a court order.

Hanson’s decision to join him on his podcast was no doubt linked to his recent appearance on Stefanovic’s podcast.

While the video was removed from various platforms and Stefanovic lost his lucrative position as host of the Today show, One Nation reposted the interview on its social media channels.

Far-right researchers told Guardian Australia the move has all the hallmarks of an effective and proven digital strategy; It works whether the mainstream media realizes it or not.

Dr D., a criminology researcher at Deakin University. Imogen Richards said making the announcement about contentious colleagues or appearing on podcasts was akin to a “pseudo-event” that was as much about publicity as it was about content.

“The purpose of such maneuvers by more marginal or formerly more marginal political actors is to shift the Overton window and move the parameters of public political debate to the right,” he said.

Richards said Hanson’s rise in popularity meant his decisions between now and the federal election could not be ignored or dismissed as attention-grabbing.

“What [Hanson’s] “What we are doing is building and manipulating international far-right alliances,” he said.

Researchers for the anti-fascist group White Rose Society said its meetings served an “attention economy” with a shared hostility aimed at “normalizing violence against people of color.”

A spokesman said: “When reporting on this issue we feel it is important to identify the agenda that those involved are trying to advance and avoid furthering it.”

“Meetings like this need to be covered, but where we see the media failing is to cover them either on their own terms or a watered-down version of their own terms.

“To Hanson and Yaxley-Lennon, this is a meeting of ideas between two fiery men of ideas who are not afraid to speak their truth and who are not afraid of being canceled for the mere crime of sharing ideas. It doesn’t matter what those ideas are.”

Dr., a far-right researcher from Macquarie University. Kurt Şengül said that One Nation does not hesitate to produce negative headlines because it uses the victim discourse against the established media and politics.

“Unlike mainstream parties, which do everything possible to avoid controversy and scandal, far-right parties actively seek scandal and controversy and actively benefit from even negative news,” he said.

Şengül said One Nation’s content creation strategy was effective, publishing popular videos that reached millions of apathetic or apolitical voters that few parties can reach through mainstream media.

“I think this is an under-appreciated aspect of the rise of One Nation,” he said.

“A large part of One Nation’s success is that the media has consistently provided him and his party with disproportionate media coverage across platforms relative to their electoral footprint since 1996.

“[Now they’re] to gain publicity, but also to create their own content so they can connect with supporters and spread their message without interference or mediation from journalists.”

Jordan McSwiney, an expert on far-right politics at the University of Canberra, said he once urged the media not to cover One Nation’s demonstrations, but “the horse took off” as its popularity grew.

McSwiney said the best approach politicians and mainstream media can take is to focus on explaining who these figures are behind the scenes.

“Don’t tell the story Tommy Robinson wants you to tell,” he said.