Popular ABC presenter Fauziah Ibrahim is back on air after abruptly disappearing from screens in April.
The Weekend Breakfast presenter disappeared from her regular role after creating two public Twitter lists which grouped her followers into groups titled ‘lobotomised shitheads’ and ‘Labour trolls/bullies’.
After being accused of anti-Labour bias and taken off air for a month, she returned to her role as co-presenter alongside Johanna Nicholson on Saturday without fanfare.
Out of the doghouse: ABC Weekend Breakfast presenter Fauziah Ibrahim returns to air after abruptly disappearing from screens in April. (Pictured on air over the weekend)
However, his Twitter account @Fauziah_Ibrahim was apparently deleted during his absence.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted ABC for comment.
The embattled journalist had “taken a break” from her air duties last month pending an investigation into offensive comments made on her Twitter account.
Ibrahim had grouped a handful of Twitter followers into two lists on his personal account, ‘lobotomized shitheads’ and ‘Labor trolls/bullies’, which were left open for the public to see.
Social media hiatus: Ibrahim subsequently removed mentions of ABC from his Twitter bio, before apparently deleting his account entirely.
Replacement: John Barron (left, with co-presenter Johanna Nicholson) replaced Ibrahim on ABC News Breakfast last month without mentioning why she wasn’t there.
Ibrahim subsequently removed mentions of ABC from his Twitter bio, before apparently deleting his account entirely.
It was just the latest episode in a long, silent experience Ibrahim had endured, where trolls brutally criticized her.
When Ibrahim came under fire for a live television interview with Anthony Albanese in January, ABC executives strongly supported her “impartiality.”
At the time, Ibrahim was accused of showing “arrogance and extreme bias” against the Labor Party and speaking in Albanese’s place.
But the ABC offered its unwavering support.
Gaffe: The Weekend Breakfast presenter (pictured during her previous role on Al Jazeera) disappeared from screens after creating two public Twitter lists that grouped her followers into groups titled ‘lobotomised shitheads’ and ‘trolls’ /Labour thugs’.
Criticism: Ibrahim was told she would be “better suited to Sky News” than the ABC after a disastrous interview with Anthony Albanese months before she was sacked for describing her critics as “lobotomised shitheads and Labor trolls”.
Ibrahim’s interview with Albanese focused on rapid Covid testing and vaccination figures and the presenter was accused on social media of rarely giving Albanese the chance to complete a sentence.
At one point, he attempted six times to respond to a statement she made about Labor “getting on board” with the Coalition’s plan to boost vaccination rates.
“If you can wait a minute,” Mr. Albanese said as Ms. Ibrahim spoke above him.
Punishment: The under siege ABC News breakfast host (right) was quietly removed pending an investigation into offensive comments made on her Twitter account.
The interview generated criticism and upset several viewers so much that they filed complaints with the public broadcaster.
Following the interview, Ms. Ibrahim was subject to intense and persistent online trolling and harassment.
“Ms. Ibrahim’s ‘interview’ was an absolute disgrace and should cost her her job,” one viewer said after the segment aired.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal this is not the first time Ibrahim has tangled with left-wing trolls
Another said he had “previously been a fan of Ms Ibrahim” but that she “lost him” after the way she behaved during the interview.
Many others tuned out the interview and vowed to stop watching Ibrahim’s weekend news program in protest.
“How rude and disrespectful… she would be more suited to Sky News after dark… I didn’t expect to see that on ABC.”
Confrontation: The interview focused on rapid Covid testing and vaccination figures and Ms Ibrahim rarely gave Mr Albanese the chance to complete a sentence.
In response to complaints made about the interview, the ABC’s Head of Audience and Consumer Affairs determined that Ms Ibrahim “conducted herself with due impartiality and complied with the ABC’s editorial standards”.
‘Ms Ibrahim employed the confrontational or ‘devil’s advocate’ approach to interviews. “We are satisfied that the interview with Mr Albanese was appropriately rigorous and informative, the questions posed by Ms Ibrahim were relevant and based strictly on news value,” she read in the statement.
‘Mr Albanese had ample opportunity to respond to questions thoroughly and in detail. Although rigorous, Ms. Ibrahim demonstrated a consistently civil and objective approach.’
Under fire: Ibrahim blocked his social media accounts in the wake of the controversy amid criticism calling it “trash” and “disgusting.”
I was not impressed: social media users who were grouped together in the two lists, which were made public on Ibrahim’s account, accused her of displaying an anti-Labour bias.