The Press Council considered a complaint from Senator Alexander Antic about two articles published in The Advertiser and the Sunday Mail headed “SA Senator Alex Antic appeals to ‘god-fearing conservatives’ for Covid crusade” online on 21 January 2022 and “Flint farewell just another salvo in the culture wars” in print on 20 February 2022.
The first article, referring to the complainant, reported that “A government SA senator has told a disgraced Hillsong pastor’s live crowd that religious conservatives should resist Australian public health rules”. The second article, an opinion piece, referred to the complainant saying, "… when he's not clogging up senate estimates with complaints about the branding of ice creams, is talking down his country to blow-hard American broadcasters, is another who might struggle to convince me he's properly doing the job he was sent to Canberra to do."
The complainant said in relation to the first article that it was incorrect to report he told a crowd “that religious conservatives should resist Australian public health rules”. The complainant said he made no such comment. The complainant said that while the article was subsequently amended following a complaint to the publication, an appropriate remedy would be to publish an apology for the inaccuracy. The complainant said in the circumstances, the publication’s offer of an editor’s note on the article saying that an earlier version had been corrected was inadequate. In relation to the second article, the complainant said it was factually incorrect to state he used time in the senate estimates committee to talk about the branding of ice creams. The complainant considered the publication’s offer of a letter to the editor and its further offer of a clarification to be inadequate in the circumstances. The complainant said the publication ought to publish an apology and an admission of a factual inaccuracy.
The publication said that once it became aware of the inaccuracy in the first article, it was promptly corrected. The publication said that it is prepared to publish an editor’s note at the bottom of the article stating that an earlier version of the report was incorrect, and the complainant had made no such overtures about resisting Australian public health rules. In relation to the second article, the publication said it would be prepared to publish a clarification saying that the complainant did not clog up senate estimates with complaints about the branding of ice creams, rather that he made the comments on Facebook during a break in a senate estimates hearing. The publication said this offer was made after the complainant rejected its earlier offer of a letter to the editor.
Conclusion
The Council’s Standards of Practice require publications to take reasonable steps to ensure that factual material in news material is accurate and not misleading (General Principle 1), and presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts (General Principle 3). They also require publications take reasonable steps to provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading (General Principle 2) and provide an opportunity for a response to be published by a person adversely referred to (General Principle 4).
In relation to the first article, the Council notes the publication’s acceptance that the comments concerning the complainant telling a crowd that they should resist Australian public health rules were inaccurate. The Council also notes that on the material before it, the publication at the time did not take reasonable steps to confirm whether the complainant had in fact made such a comment. The Council considers that in stating that the complainant had told a crowd that they should resist Australian public health rules, the publication failed to take reasonable steps to be accurate and not misleading. Accordingly, the Council concludes the publication breached General Principle 1.
The Council notes that once it became aware of the inaccuracy, the publication promptly amended the online article. Although the Council considers it is best practice to inform readers that an earlier version of an online article has been amended with an editor’s note, it considers that in the circumstances the prompt amendment to the article was adequate. Accordingly, the Council concludes the publication did not breach General Principle 2 with respect to the first article.
In relation to the second article, the Council notes the publication’s acceptance that the comments concerning the complainant “clogging up” senate estimates with complaints about the branding of an ice cream were inaccurate. The Council notes that under General Principle 3, the publication was obliged, even in an opinion article, to take reasonable steps to ensure a writer’s expression of opinion is not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or an omission of key facts. The Council notes that in making such a statement, the publication failed to take reasonable steps to ensure expressions of opinion were not based on significantly inaccurate factual material in breach of General Principle 3.
The Council recognises the publication’s offer of a clarification was not accepted by the complainant. However, the Council emphasises the obligation under General Principle 2 to provide a correction or adequate remedial action is unqualified and should have been made when the inaccuracy was identified. Accordingly, the Council concludes the publication breached General Principle 2.
The Council considers the publication’s offer of a letter to the editor in relation to senate estimates and ice cream branding was an adequate response in the circumstances. Accordingly, the Council concludes the publication did not breach General Principle 4. This finding is not inconsistent with the finding of a breach of General Principle 2, as General Principle 4 imposes a different and separate obligation.
Relevant Council Standards
This adjudication applies the following General Principles of the Council.
Publications must take reasonable steps to:
- Ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading, and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
- Provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading.
- Ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts.
- Ensure that where material refers adversely to a person, a fair opportunity is given for subsequent publication of a reply if that is reasonably necessary to address a possible breach of General Principle 3.