The ABC has once again shown why so many Australians are losing faith in the taxpayer-funded national broadcaster. There are now renewed calls to defund the biased activist organisation completely, or at a minimum sack its social media staff.

On 18 May, ABC News posted a message telling its followers they might see fewer updates on X (formerly Twitter) and directing them instead to a Bluesky account.

Not seeing as many ABC News updates here as you used to? Find us on Bluesky. https://t.co/9x0dAY2cRR

— ABC News (@abcnews) May 18, 2026

Now, if you surveyed Australians of any age who use online platforms, 99.9% of them would have no idea what Bluesky is. They would probably ask: what on earth is Bluesky? That’s because the platform is barely known or used in this country (or even anywhere else in the world).

That in itself is not a condemnation of the ABC. Its mandate is to reach Australians where they actually are, and to deliver news and information that keeps them informed. So it would make sense to expand to new platforms and mediums if some Australians may be gathering there. 

So what does the ABC do? Rather than focusing on reaching the widest possible Australian audience online, it is deliberately shifting its energy away from Australia’s largest online political town square. Instead of maintaining a significant presence on X, where it boasts 2.6 million Australian followers, it is moving its focus to Bluesky - a much smaller, left-leaning echo chamber that, as of the publication of this article, has just 2,000 Australians following it.

This is ridiculous identity politics. The management at the ABC need to be either completely gutted or defunded.
They have 2.6M followers on X and they want to post less here and more on Bluesky where they have 1200 followers and get SINGLE DIGIT likes and comments, if any.
They… https://t.co/w5GRGuFA02 pic.twitter.com/4YBpTkX0ll

— Dave Jones (@eevblog) May 18, 2026

A Sky News Australia analysis of posting patterns shows just how bizarre this shift is. Since 11 May 2026, the ABC has published only 18 stories on its main X account. In the same period, it has pushed out around 690 stories on Bluesky - a platform that began the month with roughly 300 followers and now sits at a measly 2,000.

X reaches hundreds of millions of users globally and millions right here at home. Bluesky, by contrast, has far fewer, with just 37,873 verified Australian accounts according to recent government data. Yet the smaller platform is receiving the overwhelming bulk of the ABC’s attention. 

This choice makes perfect sense to the activists running the ABC for one simple reason: Bluesky is heavily moderated and quick to ban voices critical of left-wing politics. It has become a comfortable safe space for Labor, the Greens, and the ABC itself. Whereas on X the ABC turns off comments, on Bluesky interaction with the broadcaster is welcomed. X also has a user-powered Community Notes system that has on many occasions tagged ABC content for misinformation. On Bluesky, the ABC can avoid that extra layer of public scrutiny.

So apparently Australia banned kids (under 16) from accessing social media platforms like Instagram, X, but left out Bluesky from the ban. pic.twitter.com/GNgqwTkJUc

— Joe Rogan Podcast News (@joeroganhq) April 27, 2026

The platform was also conveniently left out of the Under-16 social media ban, raising serious questions about whether officials are deliberately steering young people toward left-leaning spaces where ideas like gender transition are promoted without challenge.

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This behaviour is nothing new. ABC presenters and staff have criticised X for years, especially since Elon Musk took over and prioritised free speech. They appear deeply uncomfortable with open debate. Tellingly, comments were turned off on the very post directing people away from X.

Patricia Karvelas famously stormed off X in a meltdown, joined Threads by Meta, only to return a week later when her audience evaporated in that echo chamber.

Friends of the ABC in Labor, including Climate Minister Chris Bowen, also ditched X for Bluesky, where his climate evangelism faces no real scrutiny. It’s all part of a growing pattern of left-wing politicians and government-funded activist institutions attempting to limit public scrutiny and interaction with anyone that would press for accountability.

Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson described the decision by the ABC as “curious to say the least.” She pointed to Bluesky’s reputation for favouring an activist left perspective and questioned how it aligns with the ABC’s legal obligation to deliver impartial news to all Australians.

This is disappointing.

The ABC is supposed to be unbiased. A service for all Australians. The political conversation is here.

Bluesky is a bit of an ideological echo chamber. It might be their safe space, but hiding in plain sight is not their job.

Post on X @abcnews. pic.twitter.com/rT78RbmEgm

— Matthew Camenzuli (@Matt_Camenzuli) May 18, 2026

Conservative commentator Matthew Camenzuli put it plainly on X: the ABC is supposed to be unbiased and serve every Australian. “The political conversation is here on X,” he said, “not in some ideological echo chamber.”

DEFUND THE ABC NOW

The ABC has demonstrated time after time that is not a legitimate news service — it is a taxpayer-funded propaganda machine for leftist ideology.

What outrageous, stinking hide does this bloated broadcaster have to thumb its nose at 2.6 million Australians… pic.twitter.com/6A1sS0tALT

— Craig Kelly:🇦🇺Foundation for Economic Education (@craigkellyAFEE) May 18, 2026

Former MP Craig Kelly was more direct, labelling the ABC a “taxpayer-funded propaganda machine for leftist ideology” and asking why it would ignore 2.6 million followers on X to chase a tiny audience on Bluesky. Kelly went as far as to say the ABC may be breaking the law by openly flouting its legal obligations under the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983.

"Section 6(1) of the Act demands the ABC provide “comprehensive broadcasting services.”

Hiding from the platform where millions of Australians actually get their news, while posting on an obscure, far-left echo chamber with less than 1/100th of the reach, is not “comprehensive” - it is an arrogant, deliberate betrayal of their statutory duty."

The ABC claims nothing has changed since 2023 and that Bluesky is simply “automated distribution.”

The taxpayer-funded ABC is triggered by X so it is posting more content on Bluesky to its 1,000 followers instead of to its nearly 2.3 million Australian followers on X. This is further evidence that the institution should be gutted and defunded. All its social media staff should… https://t.co/izGzx07SG3

— Rukshan Fernando (@therealrukshan) May 18, 2026

In my view, this latest move is more proof that the ABC needs to be fully defunded. Until that political will arrives, the entire institution demands a serious review. Social media roles like these should be slashed and/or replaced, wherever possible, with efficient, non-biased AI tools. The technology already exists, and the ABC itself admits it is simply “automated distribution.”

There is a bloated social media infrastructure at the ABC, with salaries ranging from $80,000 to $200,000 for various roles. Given the very little work being done to actually reach Australians on the platforms they use, this spending is completely wasteful.

Australians pay $1.29 billion a year for this service. We have every right to expect the ABC to meet people where they actually are, on the platforms they use, and to do so without playing favourites. There is simply no excuse for wasting public money to fuel institutional activism, especially when it is so deliberate.

If you’re as fed up as the rest of us with the ABC and their deliberate activism, add your name at DefundABC.com to send a clear message that the ABC's time is up.