But Hills claims he was acting under the advice of various government officials whom he spoke to about the Islamic State during an Australia Day function at the Australian High Commission in London. Adam Hills has taken aim at the Islamic State on his Last Leg show, but has been called a "traitor" by angry viewers. Credit:ABC publicity "As this was a few weeks after the Charlie Hebdo attacks I took the opportunity to find out all I could about this so-called Islamic State group," Hills wrote. "I learned a lot of things that night, but the one that stood out was this: Islamic State need recruits and they have two steps to get them." "It seemed to me that a good way of combating this would be 1) be nice to non-ISIS related Muslims (ie the vast majority of Muslims) and 2) make ISIS look like idiots," he continued.

"I ran this past my friends at the High Commission, who agreed that this was indeed a good thing to do. Adam Hills defends his program in the post which has been liked 70,000 times. "Now there aren't a lot of things a one-legged comedian can do to combat a bunch of pricks like ISIS, but when experts in the field from your own government tell you what you can do – you damn well do it." The 45-year-old said he chose to mock the group not because he was a "hippy dippy idealist", but because he was "advised by representatives of my government who are way smarter than I am, that it was the right thing to do". Waleed Aly delivers his editorial, which went viral.

In the post which has been like more than 70,000 times and shared 20,000 times, Hills called on other Australians to also ridicule the group and stand in solidarity with Muslims who were being vilified. The comments section is largely an outpouring of support for the Sydney-born comedian, with fans calling him a "breath of fresh air" and some members of the Muslim community thanking him for the support. "It's what your government wants you to do," Hills wrote. "And what could be more Australian than taking the piss out of those who deserve it, while giving a fair go to those who need it?" Hills' comments follow an impassioned editorial from Waleed Aly on The Project on Monday, calling the Islamic State a 'weak and evil organisation'.

The rhetoric surrounding Islamic State is also being considered among top brass in Canberra, with many government officials and ministers, including Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, preferring to use the term "Daesh" because it is perceived to insult the organisation.