Treasurer Joe Hockey’s defamation suit for a ‘devastating’ article published about him last year has begun with a focus on social media.

Mr Hockey has sued Fairfax Media for the ‘Treasurer for Sale’ series of stories, which his lawyers argue damaged his reputation by leading readers to think he was corrupt — a possible interpretation that “absolutely devastated” the politician.

The articles examined a political fundraising body in Mr Hockey’s electorate known as the North Sydney Forum (NSF), where members who paid an annual fee were able to meet with the Treasurer at special events.

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In order to prove that the article could be interpreted in this way, Mr Hockey’s barrister Bruce McClintock SC partly relied on social media posts from Fairfax Media itself and from high-profile readers.

A post on Twitter allegedly by former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was tendered as evidence, in which Mr Fraser said that using a Ministerial office for fund raising is “corrupt”.

“Hundreds of thousands perhaps thought the Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times were asserting that my client is corrupt,” Mr McClintock said.

Mr Hockey said he was “absolutely devastated” when he bought a newspaper in the Canberra suburb of Manuka last May.

“I saw the front pages. I was just stunned and the newsagent says ‘What’s all this about?’ And I just shook my head.”

The Treasurer said his father is frail and there was doubt in his voice when he spoke to him on the telephone.

“He broke down in tears when I rang him,” he said.

Mr Hockey revealed his daughter later asked if someone was trying to “buy” him.

The Treasurer told the court “the only thing you walk out of politics with is your reputation…my view is there must be integrity in the political system.”

When it came time for the Treasurer to be cross-examined on Monday afternoon, the newspaper’s barrister attempted to use his own Twitter account to defeat the claim.

In 2013, Mr Hockey allegedly posted a message on Twitter criticising then-PM Kevin Rudd for “selling access”.

Social media message viewed by over 250,000 people

The articles in the SMH reported the NSF was not fully disclosing its activities to the electoral funding authorities.

A social media message on Twitter with the headline “Treasurer Hockey for sale” was viewed by 279,000 people.

The court heard a series of email messages was exchanged between the editor-in-chief of the SMH Darren Goodsir, Fairfax chief executive officer Greg Hywood and the political reporter, Mark Kenny.

One email sent by Mr Goodsir in May 2014 read: “I have long dreamed of a headline ‘Sloppy Joe'”.

After Mr Hockey requested an apology, the court heard Mr Hywood said: “Be thankful you are getting what you are. You’re lucky when an issue like this gets to court you’re not another Craig Thomson.”

Mr Thomson is a former union power broker who was convicted of fraud and theft over misusing his union credit card.

Mr McClintock said the article on May 5, 2014 was motivated by “petty spite” over an earlier apology by Fairfax Media to the Treasurer about a different matter.

He told the court his client had “a spotless reputation for integrity and no-one has ever suggested that he has been for sale before”.

Mr McClintock said the article, banners outside newsagents and Twitter messages represented “a clear allegation of corruption”.

“There is no innocent construction for those words, ‘Treasurer Hockey for sale’,” he said.

The case is set down for two weeks but Mr Hockey’s lawyer told the court the matter may be concluded by next Monday or Tuesday.

I feel after this case MPs are going to start deleting some old tweets… Fairfax barrister using them against Hockey #HockeyFairfax

— Mark Di Stefano (@MarkDiStef) March 9, 2015

Fairfax barrister puts forward this tweet from 2013… http://t.co/tKBJ5nGGhc #HockeyFairfax pic.twitter.com/cgT1obQjuM — Mark Di Stefano (@MarkDiStef) March 9, 2015

Fairfax’s barrister Dr Collins is grilling JH over his tweets #HockeyFairfax

— Thuy Ong (@ThuyOng) March 9, 2015