A few months ago some LGBT activists played a viral prank on conservative senator Cory Bernardi by buying the domain name 'corybernardi.com.au' and putting up this holder page.
https://t.co/1XhshKpwQF now redirects to this:
But the jig was up this week.
Australia's self-regulatory body for domain names (auDA.org.au) yanked it, telling the activists that the website did not have "a close and substantial connection" with the domain name.
Days later, quite mysteriously, 'corybernardi.com.au' started redirecting to the senator's website at 'corybernardi.com'.
Bernardi - who wants to build a "movement to unite conservatives", like Donald Trump - may have bought the domain and redirected the .au domain to his current website. Simple.
But here's the thing: The group that purchased 'corybernardi.com.au' is online marketing company, Arrive Online Pty. Ltd.
Which is a pretty legit looking online marketing site.
But a quick check of Australia's ABN directory shows that Arrive Online has one registered business name which is simply called "Amyl Nitrate".
Yep, the company that bought 'corybernardi.com.au' and redirected it for the senator is Australia's biggest online seller of amyl nitrate or "jungle juice".
Amyl Nitrate aka "jungle juice" aka "poppers" is a popular stimulant among gay men, who sniff the liquid and experience a dizzying head rush which also relaxes muscles in a way that makes anal sex more comfortable.
The website claims to be Australia's biggest online seller of jungle juice and sells its PREMIUM brand "Jungle Juice Black LARGE" for $48.
And to confirm, the website goes on to list its business owner as Arrive Online Pty. Ltd.
BuzzFeed News asked the senator whether he was aware that the jungle juice shop/marketing agency was re-directing people to his website and his response was emphatically "no".
Questions have also been sent to Arrive Online Pty. Ltd. about why it bought the domain and redirected it to the senator's website. Smells weird right?