As Senator Lidia Thorpe’s swearing in goes viral on a global scale, what’s Australian media been saying? A quick search will list headlines throughout the world offering a fair account of proceedings - New York Times, CNN, BBC, CBS, The Washington Post, Fox News & many more. The comments from America mostly express surprise & shock that our politicians still have to swear allegiance. In the UK, it was one of this week’s top 3 trending stories. Some even elevating her to cult like status. Syrian artist & satirist @sainthoax posted to their 3.2m followers “she’s an icon, she’s a legend and she is the moment.” But in her home country?? @senatorthorpe has been described as “the greatest fake in parliament”, “a dinosaur”, “immature” “contemptuous”, “the biggest threat to reconciliation”. Excuse me, what???!!! A First Nations woman painted as a villain? The same person who just yesterday along with @dorinda_cox secured an inquiry into our apathy towards murdered & missing Indigenous women & children? If you ever wondered why Australia has a problem with racism (despite having no racists) then look no further. This is a reminder of how important it is to apply critical thinking to what we read & watch. While international news organisations contacted Senator Thorpe’s office for comment, I wonder how many Australian newsrooms did the same? I know for sure SBS did. While I didn’t make contact before commenting on @studio10au earlier this week, I hope my comments went some way towards explaining Senator Thorpe’s “stunt”. #sovereigntyneverceded #alwayswasalwayswillbe