ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron instructions news division to make changes to a report on an Israeli attack in Lebanon

The taxpayer-funded broadcaster’s watchdog received more than a dozen complaints about an article that readers claimed was ‘too sympathetic to Hezbollah’.

Smoke rises from a village across the border of Lebanon following a strike by the Israeli air force on October 04, 2024 in Rihaniya, Israel. Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images

The ABC has made multiple changes to a story about Israel’s attack on Lebanon after receiving complaints claiming the article was “too sympathetic to Hezbollah and that it omitted relevant context and perspectives”.

ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron received 16 complaints about the article titled “Lebanese Australian community heartbroken over Israeli attack on Lebanon”, which prompted her to examine whether the story met the ABC’s editorial standards for impartiality and accuracy.

In her report, she assessed grievances by complainants that argued “the article did not stipulate that Hezbollah was a listed terrorist organisation and that the context for the escalation of the conflict in south Lebanon was unclear”.

The article was written by reporter Nabil Al Nashar.

In the ombudsman’s report, she said it was critical in a stand-alone article that when it included comments “considered sensitive or contentious, the reasonableness standard requires relatively extensive efforts to be made to achieve accuracy”.

ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron was appointed in 2022.

She requested that the story be changed to reflect accuracy.

The article originally stated: “Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since the Israel-Gaza war erupted after October 7. Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in defence of Gaza on October 8.”

The ombudsman agreed with the complainants and said the copy was subsequently amended to state: “Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since the Israel-Gaza war erupted after October 7. Hezbollah fired rockets into Shebaa Farms on October 8, a contested border territory with Israel. Assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah opened that front in solidarity and support of Gaza.”

In the same story, the ombudsman also said more detail needed to be added to accurately describe Hezbollah.
“This story has been updated to give more context to Hezbollah’s involvement in the Israel-Gaza war,” she said in her report.

The ombudsman’s report into the article found it did not breach impartiality standards and appropriate action was taken to ensure it abided by accuracy standards.

In the ABC Ombudsman’s mid-year report, released in September, it revealed the Israel-Gaza war had represented 24 per cent of all complaints during the six months to June 30.

A majority of complaints were about the lack of balance, with 35 per cent suggesting content was pro-Israel and 63 per cent suggesting it was pro-Palestine.

Originally published as ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron instructions news division to make changes to a report on an Israeli attack in Lebanon