One Nation AI Election Ad Sparks Intense Online Debate

An artificial intelligence-generated campaign advertisement released by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party for the upcoming Victorian state election has drawn sharp criticism, viral engagement, and an unexpected political row involving the party leader’s daughter in Tasmania.

The low-effort animated clip, titled Coming Out and produced by Melbourne-based Stepmate Studios, debuted on One Nation’s social media platforms. The video flips the familiar trope of a young person revealing their sexual orientation to their family around a dinner table, substituting progressive politics for personal identity. In the opening scene, a young man nervously tells his family that he has been hiding a secret: he is actually conservative. The family sits around the dinner table over vegan mung beans, as noted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, while the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that a father in a shirt emblazoned with a rainbow and the word yes asks his daughter to pass the nutritional yeast for his vegan meal.

One Nation AI Election Ad Sparks Intense Online Debate — Photo: au.news.yahoo.com

Instead of the anticipated family shock, the confession brings immediate relief. The mother removes a blue-haired wig to reveal bright orange hair styled like party leader Pauline Hanson’s, the father admits he voted no during the 2017 marriage equality postal survey despite wearing a yes rainbow shirt, and the younger sister announces she no longer wants to be a little girl, telling the family I don’t want to be a little girl anymore, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

One Nation Launches AI Election Ad

Beyond the dinner table scene, the ad transitions into a rapid-fire sequence of controversial culture war imagery and party policy grievances. The montage depicts a young African man discarding a machete and declaring he shouldn’t be on bail, a man wearing what appears to be an explosives vest who explains he should never have been allowed into the country, and an AI-generated presenter on a set styled as ABC News demanding that the national broadcaster be defunded due to perceived bias, declaring we should defund the ABC, I’m sick of being bias, as detailed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Instagram

The video targets key One Nation campaign themes for the Victorian state election, including crime, cost of living, opposition to Indigenous treaty processes, and net-zero carbon policies. Under the slogan Victoria, it's time to take our state back, which the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and 7NEWS also note appears as Take Victoria Back at the end of the clip, the populist party is positioning itself as an anti-establishment alternative to both Labor and the Liberals in outer suburban and regional electorates.

Engagement numbers surged immediately following publication. According to Mumbrella, the clip amassed more than 21,000 likes and 30,000 shares on Instagram within a day, alongside tens of thousands of views on Facebook, while 7NEWS reports that party leader Pauline Hanson shared the ad with the caption It’s ok to come out … as a One Nation voter.

One Nation releases controversial AI ad ahead of state election — Photo: 7NEWS

Public Divides Over Campaign Video

Comment sections across social media divided sharply between enthusiastic supporters and outraged critics. Fans of the party praised the creative approach, with comments ranging from Best political ad I have ever seen. It’s a winner to hyperbolic suggestions of entertainment awards, with 7NEWS noting one viewer wrote that It deserves an Emmy. No, it deserves an Oscar. Conversely, detractors slammed the production as AI slop and criticized its reliance on heavy-handed stereotypes to address complex societal issues, with 7News citing a critic who stated, Bigotry relies on rigid, oversimplified binaries, whereas a grounded view of humanity embraces its full complexity and variety. Hanson lacks on all fronts. Even a few apparent supporters expressed frustration that the party mocked vegetarianism, with one noting that they planned to vote for the party despite the jab, warning the party not to bag your supporters.

Despite the provocative content, the video bypasses traditional broadcast watchdogs. Because it is distributed exclusively online, it sits outside the jurisdiction of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which regulates television and radio. Political advertising is exempt from the industry's Ad Standards system.

Coming out

Legal experts note, however, that online material remains subject to anti-vilification statutes. Victoria expanded its civil protections under anti-vilification laws to encompass attributes such as gender identity, sex characteristics, and sexual orientation, though the legislation includes specific exemptions for artistic works and public interest expressions.

Tasmanian Cafe Row Involves Lee Hanson

The digital ad’s fallout extended beyond the mainland when it triggered a bitter local dispute in Tasmania involving Richmond Reading Room, a cafe located north-east of Hobart. The business owners posted a scathing message online targeting regular customers who support One Nation, making an unnamed reference to Lee Hanson, a One Nation candidate and the daughter of Pauline Hanson, while the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporting notes the cafe’s post asked customers if they had Seen the latest One Nation ad and felt absolutely disgusted like I do? and pointed readers toward the orange ute outside.

Seen the latest One Nation ad and felt absolutely disgusted like I do?

Richmond Reading Room, via ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

If the owners had an issue with me coming into their business, why not simply talk to me? I am a person. I am a local.

Lee Hanson, via ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation