A group of conservatively minded federal politicians has been spotted posting "incredibly similar" looking social media posts despite representing different parties.
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Recent videos posted on Twitter by maverick Queensland LNP senator Gerard Rennick, One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts and UAP senator Ralph Babet have got attention, not just for content, but for having very similar fonts, captioning, text heavy layout and use of parliamentary vision.
The main difference is the use of party colours.
Two of the senators deny sharing resources, while the other one, Senator Babet could not be reached.
It could all be a coincidence that these highly emotive posts from similar-minded politicians, trying to go viral, have so much in common.
But, The Canberra Times has spoken to several political advertising figures, who wish to be unnamed in order to speak freely, who separately agreed there are remarkable similarities pointing to possible sharing and, at the very least, some resource-poor staff copying social media work.
ANU Professor of Marketing Andrew Hughes specialises in political communications and he is seeing more than double.
"From an academic perspective, I'd say, if they're doing a course with me, I'd pull them aside for a chat about colluding because they look incredibly similar. I mean, [if] I'm to put a figure on it out of 100 per cent, I'd say probably 95 per cent," he told The Canberra Times.
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Professor Hughes said the similarities were interesting considering the parties had stated aims at times at odds with the other parties, particularly the UAP against the Liberal party.
He pointed to a few spelling mistakes in the "fast, quick and highly emotive" posts, which he suspects could be deliberate.
"It has that feel to it. That they are colluding on the content," he said. "They're definitely using the same sort of methods when it comes to construction of the content itself.
"I have no proof other than just my take on it and looking at the content and the production quality of the content, but ... the similarities are there in structure, format, content, and how they built the entire thing. And it's nearly the same."
"And it can be very hard to track, by the way, because you can do that through the dark social media apps, via Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp. You can share content and no one's gonna be able to track it really."
The Canberra Times reached out to all three senators.
Senator Babet did not respond.
Senator Roberts for his part denied sharing social media resources with senators outside One Nation.
Senator Gerard Rennick also insisted there was no collusion, but acknowledged similar formatting and that the senators "fight for similar topics". He told The Canberra Times he has been using the questioned formatting for two to three years and he generally makes up the controversial content, often on vaccines and climate, quickly on the run.
"Some of my ideas hark back to the past," he said. "I say what I think. Take it or leave it."
It comes amid reports Senator Rennick is facing trouble securing a favourable position on the Queensland LNP senate ticket. The senator is reportedly set to be dropped to an unwinnable fifth on the ticket.
It is a tight, highly contested, likely four-conservative-senator race on the Queensland ballot. While they have similarities, senators Rennick and Roberts are vying for the same audience in the same Senate term.
Last month, a video by Senator Rennick, which has now been viewed more than 276,000 times (the tweet almost a million times), was the subject of scientific derision over the claim that climate scientists have been ignoring gravity's role in heating the planet. During the provocative debate, the senator deliberately engaged a previous sparring partner, leading US climate scientist Professor Michael Mann.
"Senator, you should be thankful you can't be impeached for ignorance," Professor Mann responded, with other tweets referring to "gibberish" and offering "assigned reading".
Professor Hughes regards the social media engagement, with its similarities, as evidence of the fracturing of the hard-right, conservative politics in Australia. As well, noting Senator Rennick's reported preselection troubles, he said he appears to be brand building and getting ready for a grassroots campaign.
"That's what they're doing. Potentially, as well, maybe there's a tilt there to switch across to another party, or to run it as an independent," he said.
"Hence why they are doing the social media stuff. You have to lay the groundwork now. It is so cluttered, and we're so information dense in 2023. You can't start campaigns too soon before an election. You have got to start them with a longer lead time to get people behind you."
Senator Rennick is dialling that prospect back, both for politics and for social media use. "I am sick of hearing myself whinging," he said.