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One Nation backs candidate after 9/11 conspiracy gaffe

The latest One Nation hopeful to become the centre of a social media controversy will survive the storm, with the party declaring the issue is over.

Redcliffe candidate John Cox was caught up in yet another online drama for the party when Facebook posts from December emerged, suggesting he shared videos questioning if the 9/11 attacks in New York were the work of terrorists, the Courier Mail reports.

“Honestly, where are the engines, where are the wheels, the fregments (sic) are so small you can pick them up with your hand, the world needs honesty,” Mr Cox commented on one of the clips.

Redcliffe candidate John Cox has reportedly apologised for sharing the contentious videos. Photo: Facebook
Redcliffe candidate John Cox has reportedly apologised for sharing the contentious videos. Photo: Facebook

On Saturday the paper quoted One Nation Queensland state director Jim Savage as saying the matter had been dealt with.

“We’ve made a statement about it and that’s it,” Mr Savage said.

A day earlier, a statement from Pauline Hanson’s One Nation said the conspiracy theory statements on Facebook were “ridiculous”.


“Although we believe everyone has a right to an opinion, the views shared in Mr John Cox’s post are far fetched and ridiculous,” he said.

“We view the events of 9/11 as what it was; a horrific tragedy perpetrated by Islamic terrorists.”
Mr Cox reportedly apologised.

He joins a growing list of One Nation candidates around the country to slip up on social media.

Pauline Hanson's One Nation party has had a fraught relationship with social media in recent months. Photo: Getty Images
Pauline Hanson's One Nation party has had a fraught relationship with social media in recent months. Photo: Getty Images

Another conspiracy theory storm cost Mulgrave candidate Peter Rogers for an article posted to his blog. However, Rogers claims the post was made by a friend who was running his website without his knowledge.

Shan Ju Lin, who was supposed to represent the party as it campaigned in Bundamba, lost her spot when she was caught in a furore over anti-gay comments.

Currumbin’s One Nation hopeful Andy Semple lost his candidacy over a Twitter joke about homosexual people that he refused to back away from.

And late in the week if officially lost one of its few sitting members as the High Court ruled WA Senator Rod Culleton had never been eligible to stand for the federal senate.