Stan Grant exposes the ABC for selecting guests on Q+A to stoke conflict and ignite social media ‘lynch mob’

Stan Grant pounced on the ABC show he used to host, claiming that Q+A panelists are chosen primarily to stir up conflict and that viewers are encouraged to form a “lynch mob” on social media.

Grant, a man from Wiradjuri, Gurrawin and Dharawal, quit Q+A in May after being subjected to “relentless racial filth” after appearing on a panel discussing colonialism ahead of King Charles’ coronation.

He accused the ABC of “institutional failure” and claimed that no one in management supported him.

Now the TV host has taken aim at Q+A’s format, denouncing the show’s divisive and hatred-inflammation rather than “connection.”

“You go on Q+A and the first thing you do is introduce a panel that more often than not has been chosen because they are in conflict, rather than seeking connection,” Grant told the Canberra Writers Festival on Saturday. The Australian.

“Then you say, ‘get on social media,’ basically form your lynch mob, hit the person you hate, and pile on.

‘I can’t do that anymore and I don’t think that’s what you want from our media. I think we’re letting you down and we need to find a better way to do it.’

The format of Q+A means that five panelists, often sharing differing views, are brought in to discuss the day’s key issues and answer audience questions.

“Q+A brings you lively discussions and unpredictable moments as we take questions from the audience to the panel to bring you answers to the issues that matter to Australians,” says the show’s blurb on I-view.

Grant, who remains on paid leave from the ABC, said Saturday he was partly responsible for Q+A’s perceived problems.

“I have to accept our own complicity in this,” he said.

“One of the reasons I walked away from the media and Q+A wasn’t just because of the mounting racism against my family and the violent threats against us, but because I had to accept that I’m part of that ecosystem.”

Grant also criticized some of the coverage of long-running crime issues in the Northern Territory, saying there is still ‘a narrative that we are to blame’.

“We saw it with the recent Alice Springs stories, the kids were to blame. Now people have the right to live safely. You don’t want your windows smashed or your store looted or your car overturned,” he said.

“What we often see instead is a punitive approach, leading to more incarceration, more institutionalization, rather than addressing the fundamentals.”

The TV presenter said reduced funding for Indigenous Australians had contributed to the problems in those areas.

In the wake of Grant’s departure as host, Q+A has stopped using his X account (formerly Twitter).

ABC’s general manager previously claimed that the platform exposed journalists to “toxic interactions.”

Last month, the ABC revealed that Grant would not realign to host Q+A.

Two days later, the show’s boss, executive producer Erin Vincent, also revealed that she would be leaving the show.