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New website launched to fact check Pauline Hanson

New website Fact Check One Nation has been launched to counter some of Pauline Hanson's most controversial policies.

One Nation's Pauline Hanson

One Nation's Pauline Hanson. Source: AAP

A website has been established to fact check One Nation's policies and the claims of its leader Pauline Hanson in relation to Islam.

Fact Check One Nation opened its account by posting rebuttals to One Nation's key policies relating to Islam and immigration, including establishing a royal commission into Islam, banning the burqa and stopping immigration from Muslim countries.

In rebutting the policies, the group looked at the practicalities and the legalities of One Nation's proposals.

Sydney-based lawyer Mariam Veiszadeh, herself a Muslim, told SBS News she had driven the formation of the group of "everyday Australians" - both Muslim and non-Muslim - to counter Ms Hanson's "vitriol", "lies" and misinformation.

"Effectively, we're hoping to counter the fear with the facts," she said.

"I think One Nation's supporter base is quite significant and therefore I don't think they can be ignored or ridiculed in a way some have sort to do.

"Therefore the most powerful way to tackle the misinformation and xenophobic proposals is to counter it with facts."

Mrs Veiszadeh said the group had found many of her policies were "either already accounted for in the law" or were based on "gross exaggerations".

"Some [policies] are outright baseless and verging on being insidious or comical," she said.

In response to Ms Hanson's call to ban the burqa and the niqab in public places, Fact Check One Nation replied: "The 'burqa' is not worn in Australia".

"The 'niqab' is worn by a tiny percentage of women who exercise their free choice to wear them and surely women are entitled to wear as little or as much as they choose," the group said.

"Such a ban would be potentially unconstitutional."

Among the other One Nation policies the group investigated was the party's proposal to ban Muslims from immigrating to Australia and to stop Muslims from being sworn in to parliament on the Qur'an.

They found both of the proposals could be potentially unconstitutional.


2 min read

Published

By Kerrie Armstrong

Source: SBS News



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