Labor defends ABC independence after sexualized social media posts

Labor has defended the ABC’s editorial independence after the broadcaster received a scathing backlash for a highly sexualized Instagram post.

The Communications Minister has defended the ABC’s editorial independence after the public broadcaster came under fire for a highly sexual Instagram post asking social media users when they last masturbated.

The video, which was posted on the ABCQueer platform, shows Dr Naomi Koh Belic of ABC Health providing an analysis of the potential health benefits of masturbation while showing off several different vibrators.

Communications Secretary Michelle Rowland said public broadcasters have a legal obligation to provide “innovative and comprehensive” content across its platforms while it maintains its independence.

“The ABC has editorial independence,” Rowland said in a statement provided to SkyNews.com.au.

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“A charter statute requires the ABC to provide innovative and comprehensive broadcasting and digital media services.

“Questions about ABC’s content production arrangements should be directed to ABC. Concerns about ABC content can be raised through the ABC complaint process.”

In one part of the clip, Dr Belic explains the difference between the number of men masturbating compared to women, while referring to “sosage strokes” and “taco touchers”.

He then urged female viewers to “close that gap whether you’re manual or automatic driving”.

The post title asks the viewer, “when was the last time you deleted it?” while Dr Belic presented a video holding a vibrator to function as a microphone.

Instagram is available to users as young as 13 years old.

According to the public broadcaster’s 2020-2021 annual report, ABCQueer aims to share content that is “most useful and accessible to a young, quirky audience”.

“ABCQueer joins the Regional & Local division and continues to cover a wide range of stories and perspectives from metropolitan and regional Australia,” the report said.

Meanwhile, the ABC recently announced that “regional” journalism has benefited from cash following commercial deals it struck with Google and Facebook.

After announcing the new funding arrangement, ABC Managing Director David Anderson said the new revenue stream would be reinvested into its regional divisions.

“We decided early in these negotiations that any net income we received from this deal would go where it was needed most – and that was in the Australian region,” he said in a statement in December.

Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes criticized the public broadcaster for its decision to fund sexually explicit content aimed at young Australians through Regional and Local budgets.

“The ABC can play an important role in rural and regional Australia,” Senator Hughes told SkyNews.com.au.

“It is utterly insulting to all Australian taxpayers who fund the ABC that this is how they choose to spend the money allocated to regional services.”

The video covers the real health benefits of masturbation including the potential to prevent cervical or urinary tract infections “for guys with a vagina”.

“When you flick the bean, you go through a process called tenting which helps to expel cervical fluid,” Dr Belic says in the clip.

“Hard to fall asleep after a busy day? Nut one out, it helps improve sleep quality.”

ABCQueer has also come under fire for another video posted to the platform highlighting the decline in condom use rates in the ACT due to the preventive drug the anti-viral aid, PrEP.

Several users voiced their concerns about the dangers of other sexually transmitted infections that can be prevented by using condoms.

One commenter said it was a “dangerous way” of presenting information around PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

“Condoms prevent more than HIV transmission, with some STIs either staying with you for life or becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics,” they said.

“This is terrible. Did you consult a sexual health professional when you made this? someone else added.

In response to questions from SkyNews.com.au, the ABC defended paying for the masturbation content to be produced saying it was originally funded for “Health” coverage and was recently republished to the regionally funded ABCQueer Instagram page.

The ABC says there’s nothing “very sexual” about asking social media users when they last masturbated.

“There is nothing particularly sexual or offensive about this content. It has been available for over five weeks on ABC Health’s Instagram page and reposted by ABCQueer,” the statement said.

“The medical content of the scrolls presented by Dr Naomi Koh Belic is of a general nature and drawn from a variety of reputable sources including Vic Health, the US National Library of Medicine, and peer-reviewed medical publications,” the statement said.

“We didn’t receive any complaints. Content is not funded by ABC Regional and Local. It was funded by ABC Health.”

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