Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 8 April 2011:

Given that:

(a) the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has described an Israeli Defense Forces video on the Gaza war as 'propaganda' (AM, 23 April, 2009); and

(b) the ABC has also insinuated that the pro-Israel activist Michelle Rojas-Tal and the pro-Israel advocacy group StandWithUs are propagandists (News, 25 August 2010):

(1) Can an explanation be provided by the ABC justifying its use of the term 'propaganda' in these instances.

(2) Can details be provided of any instances where the ABC has: (a) described any anti-Israel material promoted by Israel's critics as 'propaganda'; and (b) insinuated that an anti-Israel activist or an anti-Israel advocacy group are propagandists.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

The AM story of 23 April 2009 referred to a video released to the public by the Israeli Government specifically to put its case on a contentious issue, and ABC News considers that the expressions used in the story were accurate in the context.

ABC News also considers that the news story run on 25 August 2010 was balanced and accurate. At no stage in that story was the StandWithUs group's activities described by the ABC as propaganda. The story provided an opportunity for that group to respond to allegations by its critics that it engaged in propaganda, and the headline of the story made it clear that it was dealing with a question in relation to both sides.