Jordan Shanks-Markovina (born 18 August 1989), known online as friendlyjordies, is an Australian political commentator, journalist, stand-up comedian and YouTuber. His content often discusses contemporary Australian cultural and political issues, involving self-described "lowbrow humour" style. Shanks' YouTube channel, created in February 2013, has more than 900,000 subscribers. He has interviewed politicians including Jodi McKay, Tanya Plibersek, Kristina Keneally, Bill Shorten, Helen Dalton and former prime minister Kevin Rudd. Shanks has been involved in numerous legal disputes and controversies. Most notably, Shanks was sued for defamation by former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro after Shanks made numerous YouTube videos about Barilaro. Personal life Shanks was born on 18 August 1989. He graduated from Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, and later studied international studies at the University of New South Wales. Prior to becoming a YouTuber, Shanks was a model, appearing in magazines and advertisements throughout Australia and Southeast Asia. Police launched investigations into two suspicious fires at Shanks' house in Bondi, one on 17 November 2022 and another on 23 November 2022. In a statement, Shanks' lawyers said that his home had been firebombed and hoped that police would dedicate every resource possible to investigate what happened. YouTube career Shanks' channel is primarily focused on comedy videos and political commentary, often in support of the Labor Party and critical of the Liberal and National parties. Early in his YouTube career, Shanks made paid videos for the Australian Council of Trade Unions, GetUp!, and Greenpeace, after approaching them and offering to promote their cause. In 2016, he campaigned against the Sydney lockout laws. In 2020, he produced reviews of Australian cask wine. Shanks has interviewed and filmed videos with former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. In July 2021, Shanks released an hour-long self-produced documentary entitled 'Blood water: the war for Australia's water', discussing floodplain harvesting in rural New South Wales and addressing allegations of corruption and mismanagement from local governments in the Riverina. He exclusively interviewed Twitter commentator PRGuy who revealed himself to be Jeremy Maluta, circumventing an attempt by right-wing figure Avi Yemini to identify the owner of the account through legal action. 2019–20 bushfires In 2019 and 2020, Shanks released multiple videos alleging that the then New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian was one of the main people responsible for increasing the risk of bushfires and the destruction of the koala population in Australia. He created the