The ABC News Facebook page was briefly overtaken by a hacker who posted two suggestive photographs of OnlyFans adult content creators and an unflattering photograph of the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, eating a hotdog.
At one stage on Tuesday, the cover image was a photograph of British porn star Bonnie Blue in a pink bikini. Another adult performer, Lily Phillips, was also published on the page alongside a shot of Mr Albanese. The photographs and accompanying comments were quickly deleted by ABC administrators.
The ABC audience was perplexed by the intervention, posting comments including “Where’s Bonnie gone” and “Bring Back Bonnie”, which were also deleted. “Bonnie blue does ABC News” was another comment that has since disappeared. Blue made tabloid headlines last year when she announced she had slept with 1,057 men in 12 hours, and was later banned by OnlyFans. A Channel 4 documentary followed Blue for six months to examine her claim.
The ABC is investigating the security breach of its page, which has 4.9 million followers. “Earlier today, a compromised staff account resulted in unauthorised access to the ABC News Facebook page, where several images were briefly posted,” an ABC News spokesperson said. “Access was quickly secured, the content removed, and an investigation is under way to review and strengthen our security controls.”
Billed as Australia’s most trusted news organisation, ABC News usually posts links to its own stories. In 2023, the broadcaster scaled back its social media presence, closing most of its individual programming accounts on X, formerly Twitter, but it has remained on Facebook. The ABC has shifted resources towards making content for other platforms including TikTok and Instagram, and recently hired nine creators from more than 550 applications for its creator programme.
