SSAA Victoria today prepared and submitted a complaint to the Australian Press Council (APC) and a tip-off to Media Watch following another biased article published by the Herald Sun.
The article “Gun trolls target charity” claimed the so-called ‘gun lobby’ attracted new shooters by “telling disenfranchised men they were being victimised if their right to own better weapons was denied”.
The article – highlighting supposed bullying by the ‘gun lobby’ – published extensive, unchallenged and wildly inaccurate quotes from Alannah and Madeline Foundation CEO Lesley Podesta.
The following is an excerpt from the article:
“In many cases their lives are tough, they don’t have a lot, they’re victims of globalisation in some cases, their lives have been affected by job losses.
“But the answer is not ‘give you a gun to give you back your masculinity, power and status in the community’.
“This is what the gun lobby tells them, that if they had these guns they wouldn’t feel disempowered anymore.”
The Media Watch tip-off can be read here, while the APC complaint can be read here. The crux of the complaint was that the paper failed to present both sides of the story; failed to take reasonable steps to ensure accurate information was published; failed to declare a conflict of interest and continued a campaign against lawful firearm owners.
SSAA Victoria is eagerly awaiting a response from Media Watch and APC.