The Australian highlights offensive Facebook posts but ABC says audience member who asked Pauline
Q&A has defended allowing a Muslim engineer in its audience to ask Pauline Hanson a question after a front-page story in the Australian newspaper claimed he had not been properly screened.
Khaled Elomar was cleared by police and the program’s producers before being allowed to ask Hanson about Islamophaobia, the ABC has said.
The News Corp broadsheet highlighted offensive posts on Elomar’s Facebook account and raised questions about the extent to which Q&A vets its audience members.
On Monday’s Q&A, Elomar had challenged Hanson on her policies towards Muslims and the religion of Islam, which include a ban on all Muslim immigration to Australia.
Q&A: ABC backs screening process after News Corp criticises Khaled Elomar | Australia news | The Guardian
Posts on Elomar’s Facebook account include criticisms of “Zionist Israel” as well as capitalism. One post said: “The Zionists and capitalists of the world ‘Go fuck yourself’ … We want peace motherfuckers.”
Another post said: “The world is waking up to the crimes of Zionism/Capitalism. The world is extremely cognisant of the bias and flawed western foreign policies. Islam has a vast international supportive audience.”
Read the full article in The Guardian.