Right-wing social media accounts and groups have immediately reacted with derision and suspicion to independent Senator Lidia Thorpe’s allegation that she was sexually assaulted by a Coalition senator, with viral posts accusing Thorpe of making up the claim as a distraction or to seek a payout.
Yesterday, Thorpe interjected during a speech by Senator David Van with a claim that he had harassed and sexually assaulted her. Van, a Liberal senator for Victoria, immediately denied the claims.
Thorpe later withdrew the comments from the Senate to comply with Senate rules but promised to make a statement about her claims on Thursday.
Despite a paucity of information, right-wing accounts and groups on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Telegram with tens of thousands of followers are filling up the vacuum by spreading unproven negative claims about Thorpe, a frequent target of their ire. These narratives are often accompanied by sexist and racist remarks.
Some accused Thorpe of being reckless with her claims. Anti-Dan Andrews Instagram account @danmustgo shared a post calling Thorpe a “Grade A Dickhead” to its nearly 35,000 followers.
“This moron is doing victims of sexual assault a huge disservice,” the account wrote in the post’s caption, which depicted a news article about the event.
Others went further, using a misinterpretation of reporting that Thorpe had withdrawn her Senate comments to claim that the senator had recanted on her accusations. Many accused Thorpe of being mentally unwell or seeking attention.
“She’s either a bare-faced liar or old mate must be blind in one eye,” wrote right-wing Facebook page “Aussie Eye on Australia”, which has more than 52,000 followers.
“Another Thorpe stunt or another ‘manoeuvred’ distraction,” posted one user to the Facebook group Alan Jones Show & much more”.
One claim that went viral from multiple accounts on Twitter linked Thorpe’s accusation to Brittany Higgins’ rape accusation, claiming that the pair were seeking compensation payouts.
“Lidia Thorpe tries her hand at the Higgins technique of expropriating taxpayer dollars,” one person tweeted.
One account sarcastically called on its followers to “stop picking on Lidia Thorpe” with an allusion to Higgins’ reported compensation amount from Parliament (which Higgins has disputed): “I can think of 3 million reasons why she’d level such accusations.”
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault or violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
