George Christensen gave a few hints about his post-politics career when he announced his shock retirement last month.
In a Facebook video the Queensland LNP MP said he would continue to campaign on his favourite issues as a “stronger, more unfiltered voice outside of Parliament”.
His actions were telling, too. He doubled-down on promoting his Nation First newsletter and his Telegram chat channel — all ways of building a digital audience he can reach, mobilise and monetise.
And although it seems Christensen is keen on becoming a political influencer, the question remains how the 42-year-old can turn that influence into income.
The Australian reported that Christensen is seeking to be disendorsed by the LNP which would make him eligible for a $105,600 resettlement allowance. And now a sudden pivot towards book recommendations shows how he’s trying to make money from his engaged online fanbase.
George’s book club
Less than a week before his announcement, Christensen took a break from his normal newsletter content to promote a list of “must reads”.
“I wanted to give you my top 10 reading list on today’s issues so you can track down copies for yourself and become more informed than probably most journalists and many members of parliament and senators are!” he wrote.
The books ranged from the Australian conservative Kevin Donnelly’s latest anti-leftist screed Cancel Culture and the Left’s Long March to Jordan Peterson’s new book Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life. Each article linked to an Amazon listing.
What Christensen didn’t mention was that he will be taking a cut of the books’ sales.
Amazon offers an affiliate marketing program called Amazon Associates. According to the company, the program helps “content creators, publishers and bloggers monetise their traffic”. It does this by giving the associate a portion of any sale that comes from someone’s recommendation. Those in the program will get 4.5% of the price of the physical book bought through their links.
Amazon tracks who recommends a sale by including a tracking code in URLs that their associates promote. The company’s FAQ says links created as part of the program will have “&tag=(store/tracking ID)” in the URL.
Each of the links included in Christensen’s newsletter includes “&tag=georgechriste-22” in the URL.
Christensen’s next newsletter went back to its normal content, but this time included another five books to buy (all from Amazon). He has also posted 10 Amazon book listings on Facebook since the start of April and sent four Amazon links to his Telegram channel.
In doing this, he appears to have broken the rules of the Amazon Associate program. According to the operating agreement, associates must disclose that they are taking a cut from sales.
“You must clearly and prominently state the following, or any substantially similar statement previously allowed under this agreement, on your site or any other location where Amazon may authorise your display or other use of program content: ‘As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases’,” the operating agreement reads.
Christensen did add the disclosure in his second email, but it wasn’t there in the first list of books sent to newsletter subscribers.
Christensen has also added the disclosure in his Facebook page “about” section and his Telegram chat information section, but it’s unclear when.
Amazon said breaching the agreement may lead to the termination of an individual’s participation in the program.
While it is not against the rules for a federal politician to promote his or her business interests, it is certainly unusual that a sitting MP would use their official communication channels to supplement their income.
Christensen’s recent and enthusiastic participation in Amazon’s Associate program shows his willingness to turn the audience and profile accumulated through his participation in political life into a way to make money.
Would you read a book recommended by George Christensen? Write to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication in Crikey’s Your Say section.
“ seeking to be disendorsed by the LNP which would make him eligible for a $105,600 resettlement allowance”
George stays true to LNP first principles and takes one last lazy wallow in the public trough on the way to the exit.
Ahh, wouldn’t it be nice, if we lived in a world, where people like Christensen were actually being silenced. Instead, we live in a world where loudmouthed, talentless, attention seeking hacks, have almost infinitely more media presence than their limited thoughts deserve. The main idea, that Christensen and all the other indulged ones on his reading list express, is that because of a somehow dominant left, they can no longer get their opinions out.
Which is grimly ironic, when you consider just how many platforms they constantly have access to. Interviews, supportive articles and opinion pieces in News Corpse tabloids. Appearances on FOX and SAD, where they’re fawned over by the in-house propagandists. A wide range of other TV appearances. Spots on talkback radio. Blog posts. Facebook and Twitter accounts. Book deals. Lecture circuits. And through all of those, they push their whiny and petulant refrain, that they are being silenced.
Actually, there may never have been a time in history, where there was so much mismatch, between how much media coverage an idea has been given and much attention it actually deserves?
Painful though it might be, George’s right to express reactionary garbage must have the same protection as your own. His undeserved amplification via the channels of the monopoly media is an indication of the perceived commercial returns from. He has stuck up for Julian Assange which is a lot more than can be said for a good many of his parliamentary colleagues.
Well we are still paying the Coral Sea bill.
His reactionary garbage, gets fair more media attention and support, than pretty well all of the interesting, informative and meritorious ideas, coming from scientists and academics. Yet the right claim to be constantly silenced and oppressed, by such so-called elites.
His support for Julian Assange is certainly unexpected.
No, I would not like a world in which he and his ilk were silenced.
Much preferable would be one were they were laughed at and helped to see the error of their ways, if such they be.
If all people like Georgie were silenced who would we laugh at?
Can’t see him making much. I doubt that many of his core supporters can read.
Anybody gullible enough to follow somebody of this quality is unlikely to be looking to broaden his/her view of the world by buying a lot of books.
The question for the left is how we stop charlatans like him tapping into the resentment and disadvantage of those left behind or scared about their future. It has been a nice little earner for all too many.
This means that we of the left have to seriously address how we support people to have a decent living while working through the inevitable changes in our economy and the world. If we don’t somebody else will develop a new version of the snake oil.
I was a bit surprised he knew what a book was!
Snake oil is always more popular than elbow grease.
Both work for wankers
Ewwww ha ha ha
Yep..
Snake oil will always get you into a whole lot more trouble though, you only have to talk the likes of Bella Gibson or Pete Evans
If he works at it he could qualify as one of Vladimir Putin’s best assets and get a gig on Sky Noise After Dark as cover.
Putin’s far more valuable asset, Rupert Murdoch, shouldn’t have much trouble squeezing him in somewhere.
He could play to a vastly bigger audience in the demented and gullible Americans who have abandoned Faux Noise for the faux outrage on Australia’s biggest embarrassment…..and it’s all a pre-bedtime windup they will truly appreciate.
I have no idea where Vladimir Vladimirovich comes in.
Standard go-to for all purpose bogeyman symbol.
By the back door, I assume.
“Squeezing him in somewhere” – not a pleasant thought.
It’s becoming a well-worn path. Get a platform via political office; say the sorts of things that get the alt-Right in your corner and create enough outrage to generate media coverage; build a social media/broadcasting audience and then monetise. Mark Latham started it in Australia and it is getting crowded with Cory Bernardi having recently got on the game and Craig Kelly about to start selling himself.