Pauline Hanson has lashed Nine News over an interview with the leader of the Ku Klux Klan in the US in which the so-called grand wizard said it was “heartening” to see someone like the One Nation leader surging in the polls.

In a social media post, Senator Hanson claimed the report sought to link the views of KKK grand wizard Thomas Robb with One Nation.

“This is disgusting and a new low for the Australian media,” Senator Hanson said.

“The Ku Klux Klan is a white supremacist organisation with a long history of racial hatred, terror and violence.

“Yet Channel Nine sent an Australian journalist to the United States to seek them out, interview them and broadcast their views to Australians.

“This is extraordinary.”

Senator Hanson said any suggestion that “One Nation or its supporters endorse the KKK or share its ideology is absurd and offensive”.

“There is something seriously wrong with a media organisation that believes Australians need to hear what the Ku Klux Klan thinks about Australian politics and chooses to promote those views,” she said.

“Channel Nine should be ashamed of itself.”

In a subsequent post, Senator Hanson claimed Nine had “taken more than $16m from the federal government”.

“They should explain why they took that money to meet with the KKK,” she said.

In the exclusive interview with Nine, Mr Robb said Senator Hanson was being “demonised by the same of people element that want to demonise us”.

“What I understand of her is she’s concerned about the immigrants, especially from Asia, China and so on coming into Australia and changing the racial complex of Australia,” he said.

“Changing the culture, change all the things that people love and hold dear, and change into something different. And she wants to restrict that.”

Asked if it was heartening to see someone like Pauline Hanson doing well in Australia, Mr Robb said: “Yeah, its encouraging.”

The report claimed Mr Robb raised the topic of Senator Hanson “unprompted”.

Senator Hanson has previously faced pressure over One Nation’s reported links to individuals involved in the white supremacist movement.

Last week, it was reported that a One Nation volunteer during its successful campaign in the Secret Harbour by-election in Western Australia was previously named in a federal tribunal as someone who promoted neo-Nazi ideologies.

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts has also defended the White Australia Party on freedom of speech grounds.

The party is subject to a High Court challenges after it was named under new hate group laws.

The Nine report noted a rise in white supremacy in Australia and also featured footage of White Australia Party leader and convicted criminal Thomas Sewell.

“And in the mainstream, voters are embracing anti-immigration policies and politicians like One Nation’s Pauline Hanson,” Nine’s US correspondent Reid Butler said.