One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has accused Channel Nine of attempting to link her party to the Ku Klux Klan, following the broadcast of an interview with a senior KKK member who voiced support for her anti-immigration stance. The interview with Thom Robb, head of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan since 1989, was featured in Nine's YouTube series "Trump's America: The Divided States."
During the interview, Robb was asked by journalist Reid Butler if he found it "heartening" that anti-immigration politicians like Hanson were gaining traction in Australia. Robb responded affirmatively, stating it was "encouraging, absolutely." He also claimed that Hanson faced opposition from the same groups that oppose the KKK, and that she was "demonised by the same element of people that wants to demonise us." Robb further commented on Hanson's concerns about immigration, particularly from Asia, and her desire to restrict it to preserve Australia's culture.
Hanson reacted furiously to the broadcast, calling it "disgusting" and a "new low for the Australian media." She condemned Channel Nine for interviewing Robb, describing the KKK as an organization synonymous with racial hatred, terror, and violence. "Any suggestion that One Nation or its supporters endorse the KKK or share its ideology is absurd and offensive," Hanson stated, emphasizing that there was something "seriously wrong with a media organisation that believes Australians need to hear what the Ku Klux Klan thinks about Australian politics."
Channel Nine defended its decision, stating that the documentary produced by its Los Angeles bureau aimed to examine political and racial divisions in the United States ahead of the country's midterm elections. In a statement, 9News National News Director Hugh Nailon explained that the series explores a broad range of political perspectives and that the role of race in American political and social divisions was a key focus.
The network rejected Hanson's claims of an attempted link between her party and the KKK, asserting that Robb raised the One Nation leader unprompted. Nine clarified that the reference to Hanson was not initiated or solicited by 9News or journalist Reid Butler. The broadcaster stood by its journalism, noting that Robb's views were challenged during the interview and that his perspective was one of over 20 featured in the episode. Nine stated that airing the comments was an editorial decision made within the context of reporting on the racial and political divisions examined by the documentary, and did not constitute an endorsement of Robb's views or his comparison to Hanson.