Karl Stefanovic's interview with Tommy Robinson taken offline

Today show host turned podcaster Karl Stefanovic has had an interview with far-right extremist Tommy Robinson taken down from social media and podcast platforms.

Robinson is one of the most divisive anti-immigration voices in the United Kingdom and he co-founded the far-right English Defence League movement.

In a promotional video for the podcast, Stefanovic and Robinson have their arms around each other and discuss the resignation of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Robinson says, "Can I ask you a question? Keir Starmer is a-"

"Wanker," Stefanovic finishes.

Since being taken down from Stefanovic's platforms, the full interview has been posted online by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

She also posted a segment of the interview on social media platform X.

"It looks like they're trying to sack my good friend Karl Stefanovic for this video with Tommy Robinson!" she wrote.

"Have Channel 9 become just as bad as the ABC?"

The Karl Stefanovic Show

In the interview that goes for nearly an hour, Stefanovic and Robinson discuss topics such as free speech, distrust of institutions, immigration, the mainstream media, and claim a "cultural revolution" is underway.

Robinson is one of many guests who criticise the mainstream media, despite Stefanovic being one of Australia's most highly paid television personalities in mainstream commercial media.

Stefanovic's podcast launched in January this year, with his employer Channel Nine saying it was a completely independent production.

He bills the podcast as unfiltered, unscripted and uncensored, and a chance for him "to be curious".

Many of his guests have included prominent figures from right-wing political circles, and Senator Hanson was his first guest on the podcast.

Other guests have included Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, former Liberal prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, and other mainstream Australian politicians.

But this latest interview marks a significant shift to the far right of the political debate.

Mr Robinson, born Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, is a far-right, anti-Islam, anti-migration activist who has been a feature of British political life for more than a decade.

He has been convicted of contempt of court, using a false passport, fraud, assault, and has even been jailed.

He was a member of the extreme-right British National Party, and he was behind the now-defunct English Defence League, an anti-Islamic protest organisation.

Bath University recently published research on how Mr Robinson was able to mobilise his followers for anti-migrant riots in Southport, UK, in late 2024.

Darja Wischerath, who co-authored the research, said while Mr Robinson had not directly incited violence, which is a criminal offence in the UK, he did help instigate elements of the riots.

"He never explicitly says, 'Go out and riot, cause harm,'" she said.

"Instead, what he does is say, 'We've tried all of these peaceful ways. They have all failed,' and nothing more."

"He leaves a lot open for his followers to interpret, which especially in the context of protests where lots of emotions are inflamed, can just create the preconditions for violence."

More recently, Mr Robinson was at far-right rallies in response to the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old student Henry Novak, and he supported the anti-migrant protests in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Dr Wischerath says his strategy was to connect current events with conspiracy theories about immigration and government.

"It really keeps him in the Zeitgeist," she said.

"It keeps his followers engaged with him. He's almost a parasocial relationship figure for a lot of them.

"And obviously he is a political influencer and exerting that influence over his followers is ultimately part of his goal."

Political figures across the British political spectrum have condemned and distanced themselves from Mr Robinson.

Former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson called him a far-right thug, as did Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who said he would not be welcome in his right-wing Reform Party.

Nine says podcast completely independent

The ABC contacted Channel Nine about the interview.

A spokesperson said the Karl Stefanovic Show was a completely independent production and that Channel Nine had no involvement in it, including in guest selection and other editorial processes.

Stefanovic, who is in the UK and not on Nine's screens on Wednesday, was contacted for comment.