ABC presenter Fauziah Ibrahim was absent from her Weekend Breakfast co-host role on the weekend following news reports around controversial tweets.
A spokesperson for the ABC told Mumbrella: “The ABC is reviewing recent social media activity by presenter Fauziah Ibrahim, who has taken a break from on-camera duties but remains part of the Weekend Breakfast team.”
Ibrahim has since been replaced by ABC’s John Barron.
One of Ibrahim’s Twitter lists on her personal account labelled politicians from the Labor side, “Labor Trolls/Thugs” and “Lobotomised sh**heads”. She has since made her account private and deleted the lists.
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Her bio remains “Journo via @YourMoneyAus, @AJENews, @AJ101East, @bbc, @cnbc. Eternal expat. Made in 🇸🇬. Opinions are my own.”
The Australian reported that Ibrahim’s comments have caused quite the stir inside the ABC headquarters in Sydney, especially amid an election campaign.
“Ibrahim’s intention with the lists on her private Twitter accounts seems to have been to expose the intellectual failings of Labor’s leaders and supporters,” the paper wrote. “But such lists aren’t exactly a winning formula for a presenter meant to be reporting impartially on both sides.”
Last year, ABC’s managing director David Anderson warned staff they will face disciplinary action, including the sack, if they breach tough new social media guidelines.
“Working at the ABC offers tremendous opportunities,” Anderson said. “It also comes with responsibilities – more than at any other media organisation in Australia.
“For employees, any breach of ABC policies, guidelines and procedures, including the ABC Code of Conduct and the Guidelines for Personal Use of Social Media, will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant ABC employment agreement and may lead to disciplinary action, including possible termination of employment.”
The warning came after two of the ABC’s most experienced journalists breached Twitter rules which prohibit bringing the ABC into disrepute with personal views.