ABC ME is closing down their Facebook page after the children’s TV station was hit with a backlash for airing a controversial video about ‘male privilege’.
The government-funded station has announced they were leaving the social media platform ‘due to the high level of inappropriate comments’.
According to an official post to the page, the ABC ‘will now engage with our audience on other platforms’.
ABC ME have made the decision to close down their Facebook page after inappropriate comments on the page
‘Due to recent developments regarding the ABC ME Facebook page, a decision was reluctantly made to remove the page. The page was created for Australian children aged 13+ and their families,’ the ABC released in a statement.
In the video, two young female presenters try to explain the concept of privilege to the channel’s young audience through rap and cartoons of two people trying to cross a stream.
Support for the closure flooded the page with many asking for the ABC to have their entire funding revoked.
‘That’s what you get for pushing your agenda to children #DefundTheABC,’ one person commented on their official post.
The ABC has been slammed over a video aimed at young children that tries to explain the concept of white privilege through a rap and cartoons
‘Maybe if you stopped forcing far-left politics down kids’ throats?’ another said.
Supporters of the children’s station expressed their disappointment for the page closure.
‘Nooooooo!!! What a shame! R.I.P ABCME Facebook Page,’ was one message of support.
In the clip Ross, a wealthy white man, is able to teleport across a river, while Stevie, a female refugee not fluent in English, must swim
‘The hatred and toxicity will follow. Sadly’ wrote another fan of ABC ME.
Initially published to the channel’s social media about five months ago, the clip was recently shared across a number of right-wing Facebook groups – with many outraged at the video’s content and the fact it was aimed at such young children.
In the video, viewers are introduced to Ross, a straight male in his mid-40s who is ‘rather wealthy’, in good health and born in a peaceful country. Ross is able to teleport across the stream.
The clip is presented by two women who rap the story of Stevie and Ross, but many have argued the concept is too hard for young kids to comprehend
They then meet Stevie, a female refugee who doesn’t speak much English and has little money. Rather than being travelling across the stream by teleportation, Stevie the refugee has to swim across the stream, despite developing a cough just before she jumps in.
The video ends by explaining Ross was able to cross the stream due to his privilege.
‘He was born with advantage, unearned gifts that his life was granted,’ one host raps.
The ABC ME channel is still available on YouTube and the ABC ME website but their Facebook page will close down
‘He might not think about his in-built perks, but that’s just the way that privilege works.’
While many chose to vent their anger on the various pages the video had been shared to, such as: Political Posting Mumma, The Bolt Supporter Group, Lessons in Liberty, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Supporter Group, Mark Latham’s Outsiders Supporter Group, Stop Communism in America, and Marriage Matters, others began to comment on the ABC post.
In groups where the video remains online, comments call the video ‘mentally deranged and pathetic’, and claim primary-aged children aren’t equipped to deal with issues such as social injustice.
Angry comments were posted below the ABC’s copy of the clip, which forced the entire page to be removed
‘These social justice warriors are really trying to find unhinged ways to explain ‘White Privilege’ to children. Not only is it utterly pathetic it’s very stupid too,’ one man wrote.
Another said the cheesiness of the rap and use of cartoons indicated the video was designed for children at the younger end of ABC ME’s target audience, who would not be able to comprehend the issue.
‘What the f*** are you doing trying to make little kids feel like s*** over stuff they can’t control when that morning they were probably worrying about what best f****** crayon to use,’ he wrote.
A woman denied the existence of white privilege and said only those born into wealth had the privilege described in the clip.
ABC declined to respond to questions as to whether the material was appropriate for its audience.