Pro-One Nation Facebook groups appear to be run by foreign ‘meme factories’ that monetise content

Some of the largest One Nation supporter groups on Facebook appear to be run from overseas by foreign digital creators who monetise content. Guardian Australia examined 14 of the largest pro- One Nation public groups with at least 8,000 members, and found most were created this year. While some groups appear to be longstanding and set up by genuine supporters, the majority are full of content overwhelmingly fed by what digital media researcher Timothy Graham said appeared to be “a foreign-run, predominantly Indonesian, for-hire engagement farm operation”. Many of the administrators and top posters in these public groups are tagged as “digital creators” and offer subscriptions, meaning they may be making money through Facebook programs that allow forms of content to be monetised. “The people who comment, by contrast, are overwhelmingly genuine, established Australian accounts,” Graham, an associate professor in digital media at Queensland University of Technology, said. “The operation therefore harvests a real Australian audience for engagement and money.” Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email One of the largest groups with more than 117,000 members is run by at least two administrators whose personal profiles indicate they speak Indonesian and are based in south-east Asia. They are tagged as digital creators. …