Bias Has Consequences — Except at the ABC

It seems the BBC has finally faced a reckoning. After years of growing criticism over political bias and selective reporting, both the Director General, Tim Davie, and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness, have resigned. The immediate cause? A manipulated edit of Donald Trump’s January 6 speech — the same type of deception that Australia’s ABC has been caught committing repeatedly.

In the BBC’s case, its flagship Panorama program spliced Trump’s words to suggest he incited violence. But when the full speech was later examined, it was clear that key sentences had been removed — including Trump’s call to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” It was a damning moment for an institution that prides itself on journalistic integrity.

And here’s the irony — or the disgrace. Our ABC committed the same sin in a Four Corners episode titled Downfall (2021). The edit was almost identical: removing the portion where Trump urged supporters to “cheer on” members of Congress, instead leaving viewers with the impression that his words directly fueled the Capitol riot. The intention was clear — narrative first, truth second.

Yet, unlike the BBC, where accountability finally caught up with its leaders, the ABC has faced no consequences whatsoever. As Chris Kenny pointed out in his recent Sky News editorial — “Journalistic Sin: ABC’s Misinformation and Political Bias Against Trump on Display” — ABC News boss Justin Stevens didn’t resign; he received a $110,000 pay rise.

This isn’t a one-off lapse. Kenny catalogues a pattern:

• The ABC’s years-long promotion of the discredited Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy;

• The manipulated footage in reports on Australian soldiers, where extra gunshots were literally added to video;

• A refusal to cover verified atrocities by Hamas when they conflicted with the network’s narrative.

Each of these would be scandal enough on its own. Taken together, they reveal a taxpayer-funded institution that believes it is beyond accountability, shielded by ideology and complacency.

In Britain, senior BBC leaders accepted responsibility — belatedly, but visibly. In Australia, the ABC’s leadership doubles down, dismissing criticism and congratulating itself on its “high standards of factual, accurate, and impartial storytelling.” Meanwhile, over $1.5 billion of public money is spent each year to sustain this self-serving echo chamber.

Australians deserve better. We deserve a public broadcaster that values truth over narrative, balance over bias, and humility over hubris. If the BBC’s crisis teaches us anything, it’s that accountability can — and must — reach even the most untouchable institutions.

Until it does, the ABC’s credibility will remain as hollow as the “truths” it edits to fit its own worldview.

Here is Chris Kenny's Editorial.