In brief
In a landmark ruling, the ABC must compensate Lattouf after firing her for expressing views on the Gaza conflict.
An Australian court has ruled that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) wrongfully fired journalist Antoinette Lattouf for a social media post criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza. The Federal Court determined that the ABC’s dismissal of Lattouf was illegal, as it violated labor laws for firing her partly due to her political expression.Lattouf was removed from air shortly after posting about a Human Rights Watch report that accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon in the conflict. This sparked significant public debate about the coverage of the issue by ABC, given its status as a taxpayer-funded broadcaster.The ABC argued that Lattouf, who worked as a freelance host, did not comply with its social media guidelines and stated she was never officially fired. However, Justice Darryl Rangiah countered this, emphasizing that her political stance was indeed a factor leading to her dismissal.With this ruling, the ABC has been ordered to pay Lattouf 70,000 Australian dollars (around $45,500) in compensation. The decision has led to discussions about media impartiality and the pressures journalists face when covering contentious issues like the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, particularly after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023.
