Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has responded to bizarre reports that a Four Corners investigation linking him to a QAnon figure was pulled from ABC’s programming.
On Thursday, sources from the ABC told the Sydney Morning Herald that an episode of Four Corners expected to run this Monday had been put on hold by ABC managing director David Anderson.
Scott Morrison has now responded to the episode and told reporters at a press conference today that he is offended the ABC would associate him with the QAnon conspiracy.
“I find it deeply offensive that there would be any suggestion that I would have any involvement or support for such a dangerous organisation,” Morrison asserted.
“I clearly do not. It is also disappointing that Four Corners would seek to cast this aspersion not just against me but by members of my own family. I just think that is really poor form.”
The investigation was prompted by a 2019 story in the Guardian, which suggested that key QAnon figure Tim Stewart was a family friend of Scott Morrison. Last year, Stewart’s Twitter account was banned for “engaging in coordinated harmful activity.”
The Four Corners episode by journalist Louise Milligan (who was recently embroiled in a legal battle with former attorney-general Christian Porter) was delayed for broadcast because Anderson had some “queries and concerns” about the program. This contradicts an earlier report which suggested Anderson blocked the program entirely.
“I reviewed the material and made an editorial decision it was not yet ready for broadcast, as any responsible editor-in-chief would,” he said.
“My exact words were: ‘Please take on board the feedback and keep going. There is nothing in the program that I can see is time sensitive. I would like a written response next week addressing the feedback. I know the team have worked on it for a while now, but frankly I would prefer we took our time to make it as strong as possible.’”
