A loyal ABC listener is angry at what he describes as the “absolute disaster” that has unfolded at the national broadcaster, with outrage growing over the addition of five extra gunshots to footage of an Australian soldier shooting at Afghan civilians.
Earlier this week, an audio expert claimed the extra shots were added to footage of former commando Heston Russell in a 2022 ABC story about alleged war crimes.
Last year, Russell successfully sued the ABC and two investigative journalists for libel, alleging that stories gave viewers the false impression that he was being investigated for the shooting of an unarmed prisoner.
“This is the exact footage that my legal team provided to the ABC and their legal team just before our trial, when they tried three times to defend their truth defence by saying I shot out of the helicopter,” he told 7News.
“Two things: first, it’s not me; second, here’s the full context – it was not unarmed civilians. Even after we gave the ABC the footage, the story was that I was shooting unarmed civilians.”
The broadcaster said it had “removed the online video in which an error was identified based on a preliminary inspection of the audio”.
In a letter published in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph on Friday, Bruce McAlpine, from Gosford on New South Wales’ central coast, hit out at the ABC over the blunder.
‘What I find appalling about the absolute disaster that the ABC investigative journalists have brought upon the ABC is their contempt for colleagues who are also affected by the allegations.’
Mr McAlpine continues: ‘I listen to ABC radio and listen to the broadcasts whenever and wherever I want.
In October 2023, former commando Heston Russell (pictured) won his libel case against the ABC after a Federal Court judge ruled that the ABC failed to prove that the articles it published were reported in the public interest.
Original helmet camera video of the 2012 incident in Afghanistan shows a single warning shot about to be fired from a military helicopter — but in the ABC version, five additional shots are heard
‘Local ABC radio plays an important role in many people’s lives and is in many cases their only source of information on local and national issues.
‘Evening listeners are brought together by presenters and put at ease through follow-up discussions and quizzes.
‘People tell their stories and hear others, they build relationships without ever having direct contact. They learn and teach each other under the guidance of the ABC host.
‘Local ABC radio presenters are part of their local community and are generally held in high regard, attending functions, parties, sporting events, fundraisers, the list goes on. They are independent and considerate.
‘This is what the ABC should be, not a group of people who think they have some greater purpose, driven by their inflated egos and distorted vision of what the ABC is for.
“No people who are willing to destroy other people’s lives.”
A loyal ABC listener is furious over what he describes as the “absolute disaster” that has unfolded at Australia’s national broadcaster
Following the edited vision scandal, former ABC chairman Maurice Newman expressed his displeasure with the national broadcaster.
Mr Newman, 86, was chairman of the ABC for five years until 2012. He said the ABC had become a “selfish collective”.
Mr Newman said the “latest revelation” of manipulated audio in an ABC report confirmed what he had been saying for “a very long time”.
“The ABC is a self-interested collective that won’t let the truth get in the way of a good story,” the former chairman told the Herald Sun.
‘(It) has become the shameless megaphone of the left, acting contrary to its actions, its statutes, its editorial policy and the interests of a cohesive society.’
Veteran broadcaster Neil Mitchell joined the chorus of voices demanding that the ABC justify the apparent lapse in journalistic standards.
“These allegations that ABC is faking Afghanistan videos are deeply disturbing. If true, heads need to roll,” Mitchell tweeted Monday.
‘ABC is accused of firing super-impressive gunshots at the sight to make it more dramatic. If that were to happen, it would be a huge breach of trust and ethics.
“They need to respond to this quickly.”
The ABC told Channel Seven’s Spotlight it was “seeking further information as to how this could have happened”.
“(ABC investigations editor) Jo Puccini, Mark Willacy and Josh Robertson had no role in the production or editing of the online video you brought to our attention,” the statement said.
“Any suggestion that they acted inappropriately or unethically is completely false.”
