“Hi,I’m Jeremy Maluta,” the tweet says,mimicking a famous line fromThe Simpsons character Troy McClure,the avatar used by PR Guy. “You may remember me from such hashtags as#IStandWithDan and#ICantBelieveItsNotAStaffer. I caught up with FriendlyJordies so I could finally meet you all face-to-face. Enjoy!”
In the hour-long interview with Shanks-Markovina,an ally on Twitter,the pair discussed the reasons why Maluta came forward ahead of further Federal Court action by Yemini.
“It’s a two-sided thing because,on one hand,the anonymous thing has been hanging over my head for a while. It’s a bit of pressure. I’m keen to kind of get this all over and done with,get my name out there,out in the open,” Maluta said.
“On the other hand,it hasn’t been done on my terms. It’s someone who’s gone absolutely bonkers ... playing the system to try and out me because he thinks I’m some kind of spook working for the government.”
Avi Yemini leaves the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne in March this year.Credit:AAP
Maluta and Shanks talked at length about their criticism of the media’s coverage of the Andrews government and the Labor Party. Maluta’s face was partially obscured during the interview by a watermark containing a message criticising Yemini.
Yemini vowed to return to court,this time seeking information from Telstra in his quest to unveil the identity of the user and lodge legal action over comments posted by the account at the height of the pandemic.
Yemini obtained a Federal Court order last week directing Twitter to hand over the account details of PRGuy,who he is intending to sue over social media posts he says defamed him.
Twitter complied with that order and supplied Yemini with several IP addresses. The name and email provided by Twitter did not offer enough information to identify the owner of the account.
Jordan Shanks-Markovina,also known as FriendlyJordies,interviewed Maluta with a watermark covering his face.Credit:Facebook
As the account’s following grew – it now has more than 90,000 followers – PRGuy and its supporters repeatedly clashed with politicians,journalists and other commentators who were critical of Premier Daniel Andrews and other Labor figures.
Yemini is well-known polemicist and correspondent for Canadian alt-right websiteRebel News which was connected to the anti-lockdown movement.
Maluta said he had been planning to leave Twitter,but Yemini’s legal action spurred him to remain on the platform.
“If he was trying to shut me down,you could probably say he f---ed that up a little bit,” he said.
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