Guardian Australia Investigation: Pro-One Nation Facebook Groups Linked to Foreign-Operated Engagement Farms

Key Findings

• Guardian Australia analyzed 14 large pro-One Nation Facebook groups (8,000+ members) and found most were created in 2024.
• Many groups appear to be operated by foreign digital creators, predominantly Indonesian, who monetize content through Facebook's monetization programs.
• Administrators and top posters are tagged as "digital creators" and offer subscriptions; commenters are mostly genuine Australian accounts.
• One group with 117,000 members is run by administrators whose profiles indicate they speak Indonesian and are based in Southeast Asia.
• Some administrators share screenshots in Indonesian showing earnings from Meta for popular content.
• Content often includes polarizing yes/no questions, AI-generated images, and Islamophobic themes.
• Two accounts running a 40,000-follower group appear based in India, previously posting Hindi content on Indian politics.
• An administrator for "One Nation Supporters Australia🇦🇺" (135,000 members) impersonated federal MP David Farley; the account was removed after Meta was contacted.

Expert Statements

Timothy Graham, associate professor at QUT, described the operation as a "foreign-run, predominantly Indonesian, for-hire engagement farm operation" that harvests real Australian audience for engagement and money.

Crystal Abidin, professor at Curtin University, noted that for Southeast Asian meme factories, politics is often divorced from profit; they may use political posts to attract brand contracts or profit via platform monetization schemes.

Party Response

One Nation media adviser Richard Henderson said party members had been impersonated on Facebook for years, then declined further comment to Guardian Australia.

Platform Response

A Meta spokesperson said they were reviewing the content shared by Guardian Australia and would remove anything violating policies.