Knowing what we do of Rupert Murdoch and his affiliate publications, it comes as no surprise that the expatriate media mogul’s first tweet in the tragic wake of the Martin Place siege was not one of condolence for the two victims and their families, or an expression of empathy for anyone of any kind but instead was a show of “congrats” for The Daily Telegraph, the “only” newspaper to catch “the bloody outcome at 2:00am.”
“Congrats.”
AUST gets wake-call with Sydney terror. Only Daily Telegraph caught the bloody outcome at 2.00 am. Congrats.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) December 15, 2014
It almost goes without saying that not only is everything about the whole situation extremely insensitive, it’s also as deliberately misleading and factually incorrect – every major news outlet has covered the siege tirelessly over the last 24 hours in a manner much more immediate than a print publication – as the same newspaper’s afternoon edition. The latter was printed at 2pm yesterday in response to the escalating crisis, and misleadingly labelled the hostage situation as the work of an IS “Death Cult CBD Attack”, something we labelled at the time – and will continue to do so – as one of “the most vile, deliberately inflammatory, fundamentally wrong and wholly speculative front covers in the sordid history of Australian print media.”
You can lodge a complaint with the Australian Press Council here.
Support and information is available for the distressed online at Lifeline by calling 13 11 24. You can contact your local mental health service via the NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511. You can find more information online from NSW Health here. Twenty-four hour support is also available at Kids Help Line online or on 1800 55 1800.
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