Pauline Hanson blames ‘fake news’ media for her bad press. But serious leaders have to own their actions | Pauline Hanson

It seems Pauline Hanson has only one thing to blame for her string of bad headlines in recent weeks; from his decision to befriend far-right criminal Tommy Robinson to his description on Wednesday of domestic violence as “a two-way street.”

Of course, it is not Hanson himself who is to blame, according to the One Nation leader.

No, it’s the media’s fault.

He released audio of the domestic violence conversation on Thursday, claiming there was a “concerted effort by some in the media to continually take my comments out of context.”

The One Nation leader criticized “journalistic integrity” and linked it to redundancies at Nine newspapers.

“My tolerance for many journalists within the MSM is gradually decreasing [mainstream media] “So do the people,” he wrote.

Don’t just imitate Donald Trump’s policies and sloganThis week shows that Hanson and One Nation are now more than ever turning to the fallback method of blaming journalists when the consequences of their own statements or actions lead to an entirely predictable controversy.

This is hardly new; Hanson has been “banned” from public appearances by Guardian Australia, along with our fellow travelers at the ABC and others. Media alerts, press releases and even returned phone calls used to come our way, but not anymore. In a trend seen since Hanson first burst onto the national political scene in 1996, One Nation accused the media of covering its mistakes rather than turning its gaze inward.

It works when Hanson picks political fights with the “mainstream media” and positions him as an anti-establishment outsider fighting against the system.

However, according to current figures, Hanson could become the official opposition leader after the next election; This undeniably requires the same level of scrutiny the media gives to Labor or Liberal leaders.

This predictable cycle of argument, then blame, has come into sharp focus over the past two weeks amid a steady stream of mistakes stemming from Hanson’s European holiday.

Hanson, Robinson “How did you deal with the Pakistanis and the Somalis and all these African problems?” When he asked, he expressed the end of the White Australia policy. It was just ‘fake news,’ Hanson in questionIt’s the fault of “leftist media and their fake, clickbait stories.”

Was there a reaction to his decision to give Robinson a candid interview and accompany him on his trip to England? According to Hanson, Barnaby Joyce and One Nation chief of staff James Ashby, Seven’s Spotlight was the one who pushed for it in the first place (Seven sources said the podcast was instigated by One Nation and Hanson was not forced to do anything).

For good measure, as scrutiny of the Spotlight special mounted – including him saying “I love it” when asked about the concept of mass deportation – Hanson released the “pitch” document in which he said Seven proposed the documentary, implying he was the victim of a media stitch-up.

Meanwhile, Hanson’s loyal lieutenant, Malcolm Roberts, blasted the media with “selective cherry picking and dishonest distortionsI’m looking for “and”drag up nothing stories”When her past comments about all kinds of conspiracy theories, from Covid to traces of chemistry, and her support for Vladimir Putin resurfaced.

But at every point, it’s unclear exactly what One Nation’s complaints are, other than that it doesn’t like the headlines. Aside from tone, few specific rebuttals were made. The list of arguments is hardly made up of insults; These are obvious questions about what Hanson or his colleagues have said and done publicly.

At various stages Hanson accused journalists of taking him out of context and republishing his own comments; thus “do not allow the issue to be distorted by the media or the Labor Party”. But those comments had already been repeated at length and in context in the media articles he complained about.

On Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, as criticism mounted over his domestic violence comments, he first released a written excerpt and then a full audio clip of the interview, claiming the media “decided to use only a few quotes.”

But in fact the quotes he was trying to highlight have already been published at length by the Guardian, ABC, Nine newspaper, News.com.au and more.

Hanson claimed his disdain for domestic violence was “not true.” Sky’s Ashby accused the media of filming a “five-second clip” instead of a “30-second clip”.

But it is true that experts, including the Emergency Center for Women and Girls, disagreed with Hanson’s rhetoric, and CEO Nicole Yade called the comments “despicable and shameful.”

Hanson has spoken of becoming prime minister one day and taking One Nation from the fringes and turning it into a mainstream party. But the advantages of popularity also come with responsibilities; including being responsible for your actions and the words that come out of your own mouth.