Who is 'Peggy Sue'? Inside the viral campaign targeting Peter Dutton

Monday Headlines: New poll shows Labor on track to lose the election as the Coalition matches Labor’s Medicare boost, today marks the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pope asks for more prayers from hospital and Federal US employees asked to list their accomplishments as Elon Musk threatens to fire them

Deep Dive: Have you heard the recent rumours that Peter Dutton might be ‘Peggy Sue’?

Creator and sex worker Kayla Jade, who boasts 1.9 million followers on TikTok, has made her fame by talking about her work with her clients – with aliases of course – including a high-profile male client who pays her thousands of dollars to peg him.

Dubbed ‘Peggy Sue’, comments underneath videos sharing her stories with him take guesses at who the high-profile client could be – with the front runner gaining most traction being the Opposition leader, Peter Dutton.

Enter TikTokker and vocal critic of the Coalition, and its leader, Holly MacAlpine, who seized upon the moment, calling on her audience to flood Dutton’s comment section on socials with the words ‘Peggy Sue’.

While rumours and personal attacks swirling ahead of an election are nothing new, there’s a clear shift in where they’re originating from, with creators and commentators leading the charge online.

And with this year’s vote the first where Gen Z and millennials will outnumber Boomers at the ballot box, who is influencing young voters and leading the discourse – will make a difference.

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Holly MacAlpine to explore what she thinks of the ‘Peggy Sue’ meme, politics on TikTok, and the influence of people like her. 

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