Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Despite all of the complaining, the whinging and the fearmongering from the media in the United States, Donald Trump soared to victory in the recent presidential election, and the levels of triggering among some cohorts have been off the charts ever since. You can almost feel the mood in this building as we've returned for the first sitting week post-election, or maybe that's just the product of this Labor government taking on water day by day. But how did the media get it so wrong yet again? Part of the answer lies in the fact that a large majority of the mainstream media is deeply left wing. Leftists tend to double down on their assumptions and blame everyone else rather than pausing to reflect on their own behaviour.

That was certainly on display with the bewilderment we saw from the corporate media following this election or, in our case, the Voice to Parliament referendum. To the journalists out there who are listening: remember that just because you and your wine appreciation group like something doesn't mean the rest of us are going to like it or endorse it. Prior to the election, all we heard was, 'This election's close,' or, 'Trump is down in the polls.' Guess what? Wrong and wrong. They're wrong again. It rarely occurs to the overtly woke why people who work, who provide for their families, who see value in traditional gender roles, who value religious faith and who reject climate alarmism and the demonisation of men—as far as I can tell, all the Democrats in that election ran on were the endorsements of celebrities, yet the corporate media seemed to be stunned at the outcome.

In the lead-up to the election, President Trump did the rounds on long-form podcasts, talking to people like Joe Rogan and Theo Von, engaging in lengthy discussions about issues that actually matter to people. He connected with the American people on matters like illegal immigration, public health, inflation. You name it; he spoke about it. He spoke his mind. That's what the Left can't understand. They can't go onto shows like that because often they simply don't know what they believe in. People want a return to normal. They don't want more absurdity in their lives. They don't want more inflation. They don't want more war. People simply don't care what the major news networks have to say. They, in this case, listened to the candidate himself, and they listened to him speak for several hours at a time.

The win signals what could be described as the final countdown for the legacy media. As Elon Musk told X users after the election, 'You are the media now.' It's funny—isn't it?—how when there's less censorship the absurdity of all of this becomes unsustainable. That's why Labor wants to control social media platforms with the threats of massive fines to users and corporations with their misinformation and disinformation bill. They're scared of the truth. They're scared of the inevitable break-out of discussion and discussion that isn't easily controlled. They're unbelievably scared of memes. Can you believe it?

All I can say to the mainstream media is that it's time to cry harder. No-one cares about your commentary. No-one cares about your worldview. Simply put, with the rise of alternative platforms, you're wilting on the vine. Since COVID the red-pilling's been occurring at an accelerated pace, and Labor, with their commitment to this woke ideology that's become so tedious, just can't keep up. Censorship won't fix it. Ultimately I think we have to come to the conclusion that it is fun to stay at the YMCA: 'It's fun to stay at the YMCA. It's fun to stay at the YMCA.' So commiserations to the legacy media. You got it wrong again. All we can do is dance.