Source : THE AGE NEWS
NewsMax Australia’s Facebook account was temporarily erased by the social media giant, with the right-wing media start-up claiming it was “cancelled” by Meta for posting an interview with a cost-of-living activist protesting outside a property owned by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The account, which was offline for more than a day, was reinstated on Thursday, with a spokesperson for Facebook owner Meta saying it was deactivated as an error. It was initially removed under the belief the account was illegally using the name of its US counterpart.
NewsMax told its followers it was “cancelled” by Facebook for publishing an interview with housing activist Morgan Cox.Credit: ABC
The move highlights the unilateral power social media giants such as Meta have over news publishers.
NewsMax told its followers on X its account was “deleted” after it published a video interview of Morgan Cox while parking his campervan outside Albanese’s $4.3 million Copacabana Beach house. Cox has risen to prominence as a father-of-three on the brink of homelessness, after an appearance on the ABC’s Q+A in March.
Cox, sold to the public as a Gosford-based electrician and father, has received widespread media coverage from Australia’s biggest media organisations.
He has conducted interviews with News Corp’s news.com.au, Nine’s A Current Affair, 2GB’s Ben Fordham Show, Daily Mail Australia, and others, and has told NewsMax he is now calling for the government to halt all immigration.
NewsMax Australia recently rebranded after striking a licensing agreement with the American news network with the same name, and is yet to officially launch its live-streaming news channel.Credit: AP
Cox is described by news.com.au as the “battler dad that sparked a national conversation”, and by Nine as a “housing protester”, however previous coverage has not explicitly pointed out that Cox ran as a candidate for the Christian Democratic Party in the 2016 and 2019 federal elections. He received 1 per cent of the vote in the NSW electorate of Richmond in 2019.
The party previously positioned itself as anti-abortion, advocating for cutting immigration, against same-sex marriage, with its leader, Fred Nile, called homosexuality a “mental disorder”. NewsMax Australia and Cox did not respond to a request for comment.
NewsMax Australia recently rebranded after striking a licensing agreement with the US news network of the same name, but is yet to officially launch its live-streaming news channel.
It previously operated under the name ADH TV, and the station’s revamped and expanded programming line-up was slated to launch in early March. However, it remains off-air with its existing list of presenters unpaid, a source with knowledge of the matter not authorised to speak publicly, said.
ADH broadcasted between three and four hours a day in 2024. Presenters included former Sky News Australia host Chris Smith, former Liberal Party candidate and anti-trans activist Katherine Deves, commentator for The Australian Nick Cater, and former Australian Christian Lobby boss Lyle Shelton.
It previously listed conservative lobby groups The Menzies Research Centre, The Institute of Public Affairs, and Advance Australia as partners, as well as far-right media organisation The Epoch Times.
NewsMax is led by former Seven News Sydney executive and adviser to Gina Rinehart, James Morrison, 25-year-old chief executive Jack Bulfin, and is chaired by Maurice Newman, former ABC chair and co-founder of Advance Australia.
It launched in 2021, initially as the new home of former 2GB and Sky News Australia broadcaster Alan Jones. Jones has since left the network, and is facing 20 counts of indecent assault, 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault, two counts of common assault and two counts of sexual touching.
The funding behind NewsMax Australia and Australian Digital Holdings remains unclear. It received early funding from James Packer; however, he is no longer financially involved, according to a person from NewsMax not authorised to speak publicly.
NewsMax has rejected suggestions it was partially funded by Rinehart. A person with knowledge of the dealings not authorised to speak publicly indicated the mining magnate was approached but that no funding or advertising deal was ever finalised.
While it is not yet broadcasting, NewsMax Australia has begun posting some content across its social media accounts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and X, including an interview between Deves and the independent candidate for Bradfield, Andy Yin.
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