An ABC journalist is under fire for describing stories of Hamas beheading babies as “bulls**t”.
Tom Joyner, the ABC’s Middle Eastern correspondent, made the comments on a Whatsapp group exchange with hundreds of international journalist and broadcasters sharing information about the recent Hamas attack on Israel.
According to The Australian, Joyner wrote: “The story about the babies is bulls**t”.
One group member responded by writing “Care to retract this now?”.
Joyner apologised for the wording but insisted “we still have not seen clear evidence”.
“Why hasn’t there been anything unequivocal from the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) or from Netanyahu,” he wrote.
A journalist then replied “The PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) confirmed it, there are numerous eyewitness testimonies from the field and (US President Joe) Biden just confirmed seeing evidence to support it. What more would you like?
“Do you need to be taken to a morgue and open body bags yourself? Shame on you.”
Another journalist echoed those sentiments writing: “There have been multiple people here, myself included, saying they have spoken to eyewitnesses about decapitations.”
Israeli military officials on Friday claimed Hamas terrorists slaughtered at least 40 babies and young children – decapitating some of them in an assault on the Kfar Aza kibbutz.
Tal Heinrich, spokesman for the Israel leader Benjamin Netanyahu, said “toddlers, babies heads were cut off”.
Journalist Nicole Zedek from i24 in one live broadcast, which has since been viewed millions of times on X, noted: “Talking to some of the soldiers here, they say what they witnessed as they’ve been walking through these communities is bodies of babies with their heads cut off and families gunned down in their beds.”
Joyner is not the first ABC reporter to come under fire over the conflict.
ABC political reporter Nour Haydar’s social media use has also raised eyebrows.
Haydar has shared numerous tweets supporting pro-Palestinian protesters in Sydney.
The protest on Monday night started peacefully before protesters stormed the Sydney Opera House forecourt while chanting anti-Semitic phrases including “gas the Jews” and “f**k the Jews”.
“How is it possible that Palestinians in Australia are being policed for their language, protests, grief, called animals, accused of supporting terrorism, framed as instigators, and an Australian Jewish organisation openly calls for genocide,” was one of the tweets she reposted.
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2GB presenter Ray Hadley pounced on the reporter.
“I don’t know whether that’s covered by the ABC policy on social media, but she’s reposted quite a number so we need to check with the boss of the ABC to see whether the postings by Nour Haydar, even though they were not her own words, whether they’re in contravention of the ABC and their policy on social media postings,” he told his listeners.
The ABC did not respond to requests for comments on Joyner or Haydar.
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