Zali Steggall (right) won the bronze medal at the 1998 Winter Games and is now an Australian politician. Photo / Getty
Zali Steggall (right) won the bronze medal at the 1998 Winter Games and is now an Australian politician. Photo / Getty
Online trolls have been editing Australian politician and former Olympic skier Zali Steggall's Wikipedia page to falsely claim she has appeared in nude photoshoots.
Speaking to Channel 9 this morning, the independent candidate called on her rival in Warringah, former prime minister Tony Abbott, to condemn the behaviour, implying the culprits were supporters of his campaign.
"It's sexist, it's inaccurate. What can you do about it?" host Georgie Gardner asked.
"Oh look, Wikipedia at least, you can get them to change it and lock down the page, so that's fine," Steggall said.
"But it's more what it means, and what kind of leadership are you inspiring if your followers think that's the way to win an election?
"I think someone like Mr Abbott should be calling it out and really saying that kind of behaviour is unacceptable.
"It's a real question of what kind of example do you want to set when you're in a position of public service. What kind of people do you want to follow you?"
The edits to Steggall's Wikipedia page claimed she was "an Australian lawyer, former Olympic athlete and men's magazine model".
"She appeared nude for a Pear Industry campaign dubbed O'Pear, appeared in Penthouse's Black Label magazine and also appeared wearing lingerie in a men's magazine as a former sportswoman," the trolls wrote.
They also changed Ms Steggall's listed weight from 75kg to 125kg.
The page's revision history shows the edits started on Sunday and continued throughout the week. Each time they were undone, the culprits would reinsert them.
"Who's behind it?" Gardner asked this morning.
"Trolls are always anonymous. I assume it's not people that have represented their country at the Olympics and done great things," Steggall said.
"What's your suspicion? Gardner pressed.
"There's no doubt about it that it's from an opponent's point of view. So again, I wouldn't want to point fingers at who it is, but we know Advance Australia are running ads where they're openly lying about my campaign platform, my positions on policies."
Zali Steggall is Australia's most internationally successful alpine skier. Photo / Getty
Advance Australia is seen as the conservative answer to the left-wing activist group GetUp!, which has targeted Abbott's electorate in an effort to oust him from parliament.
The conservative group has raised money to help Abbott defend Warringah.
