The SMH and The Age weren’t the only news outlets accused of dangerous amplification this week.
On Monday at 6.07pm, The Daily Mail published a news story about online abuse directed at ABC host Lisa Millar for her on-air outfit. ‘Most of the insults are too vile to publish with the accounts being called out by a number of Australian personalities on Twitter,’ the story reported. It then proceeded to publish several of the insults.
On Tuesday, news.com.au and The Guardian then published their versions of the story, prompting the ABC to respond with a statement: ‘If Daily Mail Australia and news.com.au were genuine in their concern about such behaviour they wouldn’t amplify it by republishing the comments they describe as ‘vile’ and ‘sickening’, accompanied by a screenshot .’ Now there were two stories. One, trolls attacking Millar. Two, news media fighting about coverage of the issue.
On Wednesday, Millar responded. It just happened to be International Women’s Day. ‘The fact that what I wore on Monday attracted obnoxious commentary on Twitter — foul, disgusting personal abuse that I couldn’t and wouldn’t repeat — was upsetting,’ said Millar, who quit Twitter in 2021 following a torrent of personal attacks.
‘That it then ended up online on some news sites where the photos and the abuse were republished made me angry. I am angry ... on this International Women’s Day, on behalf of myself, but also on behalf of other women, young women, who see those stories and see someone like me being violently abused day after day for whatever reason bullies can find. I worry it might make you think that no progress has been made and that it’s not worth it to be a woman in the public arena. On this International Women’s Day I want to tell you the response over that rubbish yesterday gives me hope. We are making progress, and we will make more, and there are so many awesome women who we can all look up to. Let’s celebrate them today. And please, make a conscious decision today to be part of the solution. Play a part in making our communities a better, kinder place, for everyone.’
Should the issue be reported? If so, how? News.com.au editor-in-chief Lisa Muxworthy defended her outlet’s coverage. ‘News.com.au has a long and strident history of exposing abuse against women ... We believe a clear public interest exists in reporting on the issue of vile social media trolls and the damage they cause.’
She has a point. At a time when domestic violence is killing women at horrifying rates, bullying, harassment and misogyny need to be called out. In the process, however, it’s vital that misogyny isn’t amplified. For reporters, that means one thing: not republishing insults. When I checked yesterday, the News Corp report and The Guardian report both outlined what had happened, without including insults. The Daily Mail story, by contrast, still included insults.
Sacha Molitorisz, Senior Lecturer - Law