Malcolm Roberts has accused the media of running a co-ordinated “hit job” against him after a series of reports highlighted the One Nation senator’s past comments praising Russian President Vladimir Putin and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, as speculation grows over his political future.

The Queensland senator used a lengthy opinion piece in The Spectator Australia to reject suggestions that he subscribes to conspiracy theories, while accusing journalists of deliberately misrepresenting his views as One Nation’s strong polling places the party under increasing scrutiny.

The broadside comes after this masthead reported that Roberts said Putin had “earned his respect” by invading Ukraine, describing the war as a fight against “globalists” during a podcast appearance last year.

Several reports from this masthead, The Guardian and The Australian have also revealed that Roberts stated his belief in chemtrails, posted a picture of a well-known antisemitic mural, lauded Jones as a “beacon of hope around the world” and brought up the possibility that Australia was a US corporate entity.

In his response, Roberts dismissed the reporting as politically motivated and argued that journalists had ignored his parliamentary work for years.

“After a week of targeted headlines, erroneous and malicious they may be, at least I have brand recognition,” he wrote.

Roberts said the articles relied on publicly available podcast interviews rather than uncovering new material, and accused media organisations of stitching together “false and misleading statements” about his beliefs.

The reports have intensified attention on Roberts, one of Pauline Hanson’s closest political allies, amid growing speculation from within One Nation over whether the 71-year-old will be encouraged to step aside before the next federal election. Party figures have privately pointed to concerns about his declining health, fuelling suggestions that he could be replaced before the next poll.

He rejected claims that he endorsed chemtrail conspiracies, September 11 conspiracy theories or suggestions that the December 2025 Bondi massacre was a “false flag”.

“Do I subscribe to the chemtrail conspiracy? No. That claim is false,” he wrote. “Do I subscribe to 9-11 conspiracy theories and school shootings? Of course not.”

Roberts also defended his repeated use of the term “globalism”, rejecting suggestions that it carried antisemitic connotations.

“Since when is ‘globalism’ considered a Jewish banker conspiracy theory?” he wrote.

Jewish groups had criticised his use of the term “globalist parasites” and “globalists”, a term commonly used as a pejorative in far-right politics and in various conspiracy theories, often with antisemitic tropes. He also made no mention of his support for Putin.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce repeatedly distanced himself from Roberts’ comments, saying they were not the views of the party, but called him a “decent man”.

While distancing himself from some of the allegations, Roberts doubled down on several controversial positions that have become central to One Nation’s platform. He declared that there were “definitely” concerns about COVID-19 vaccine safety, described net zero emissions policies as “a scam”, and said the origins of COVID-19 had been covered up.

He also argued that One Nation’s growing electoral support had triggered increased attacks from political opponents and sections of the media.

“Is One Nation a threat to Labor? You bet,” he wrote.

Roberts claimed that his work opposing climate policies had placed him in the sights of critics, accusing the Albanese government of wasting taxpayer money on preparations for the COP31 climate conference and calling for the abolition of the Department of Climate Change.

Apart from Hanson, Roberts is one of the party’s longest-serving parliamentarians since returning to the Senate after successfully overcoming the dual citizenship crisis that briefly forced him from parliament in 2017.

After securing 6.4 per cent of the primary vote at the last federal election, One Nation has enjoyed a sustained rise in support over the past six months, peaking at 29 per cent in Resolve, this masthead’s monthly polling, in June that put it ahead of both Labor and the Coalition.

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