You'd think the staffers working for one of Australia's most prominent politicians would have known by now, that asking a journalist to censor content - and then allowing them to report this - will almost certainly trigger immediate intrigue.
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But it seems we're learning something new every day.
Fairfax Media's political reporter Stephanie Peatling tweeted a photo of Immigration Minister Peter Dutton at a press conference on Tuesday.
He called the press conference after a 21-year-old Somali refugee Hodan Yasin set herself on fire (an incident that should be blamed on refugee advocates, rather than government's policies, according to Mr Dutton).
The now-famous photo of the minister, taken by Alex Ellinghausen, captures the minister emerging from the shadows to front the media.
After the pic was tweeted, Ms Peatling was asked to take it down by Mr Dutton's staffers, who complained that the photo was unflattering.
IM Dutton's office tres unhappy abt most recent pic of him so have taken it off twitter because I don't have time to argue with them.— Stephanie Peatling (@srpeatling) May 3, 2016
She later explained on the Budget Live Blog: "Keen observers would have noticed that I tweeted some of Alex's photos from the press conference as they came in ... I tweeted it with the caption "Eek" meaning that if I were a press secretary to Mr Dutton I wouldn't be thrilled to see the picture. Mr Dutton's offsider took considerable umbrage with it and most strongly protested its presence on the socials. After one of those conversations where both parties say the same thing over and over again I agreed I would take it off twitter so long as I could say they asked me to do so. " It wasn't long before Mr Dutton's face would become the inspiration for some hilarious memes, and trend on Twitter on Budget night.
The images went from playful ...
Peter Dutton wants this photo deleted, so please delete it ASAP!
I'll just pin it here so you know which one it is. pic.twitter.com/n05I34bD2o— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 3, 2016
This is the photo Peter Dutton's staff didn't want shared via @ARationalFear https://t.co/jWEPKldLKN pic.twitter.com/TqAaG9sQI7— Mark Whalan (@MWhalan) May 3, 2016
Peter Dutton also not very happy about this picture. pic.twitter.com/5H9XIGB56N— Dave Donovan (@davrosz) May 3, 2016
Peter Dutton #auspol pic.twitter.com/wqVBVWSJqO— Olivia Copse (@OliviaCopse) May 3, 2016
Please stop sharing this photo of Peter Dutton. He doesn't like it. pic.twitter.com/aJAyNf58f1— David C. Simon (@theleast) May 3, 2016
Mr Dutton has asked that you stop sharing this photo. Certainly don't retweet, make copies, or get t-shirts printed. pic.twitter.com/62fq7WztNc— Young Labor (@YoungLaborOz) May 3, 2016
to scary and Hannibal Lecter-esque...
#HagueDutton pic.twitter.com/bijSCtQQkQ— NB (@MadameMars) May 3, 2016
Please stop sharing this image of Peter Dutton. #dutton pic.twitter.com/Su2Q4Yalve— timdunlop (@timdunlop) May 3, 2016
The real picture Dutton didn't want you to see. pic.twitter.com/ASpxtGDXQr— James Hutchinson (@j_hutch) May 3, 2016
and finally ... it got political.
Hey @PeterDutton_MP - may your unspeakable cruelty toward #refugees result in this very very soon... #AusPol pic.twitter.com/2Jxa69iMbd— Kiera (@KieraGorden) May 3, 2016
