ABC management and Leigh Sales intervene in debate on Uluru Statement and argue it's a ‘one-page document’

ABC management and Leigh Sales have instructed staff that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a ‘one-page document’ and given them tactics to quash any contrary arguments.

ABC presenter Leigh Sales.

ABC management and top journalist Leigh Sales have instructed staff at the public broadcaster that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a “one-page document” and given them tactics to quash any arguments contrary to this.

The intervention from Sales and ABC management comes days after the broadcaster’s Media Watch program criticised attempts to label an editorial from Sky News host Peta Credlin arguing that the Uluru Statement was 26 pages long as “false information” on Facebook.

In correspondence sent by ABC management on Thursday, editorial policy chief Mark Maley said he wanted to “pass on some advice from one of the ABC’s best interviewers, Leigh Sales” on how to handle misinformation in interviews, including the length of the Uluru statement.

In the email, the former 7.30 host said a recent ­example of misinformation was “the claim that the Uluru statement is a 26-page document”.

“That is inaccurate”, she said. “The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a one-page document.”

The Uluru statement’s length has become a fierce topic of debate between pro and anti-voice camps. Pro-voice advocates, including Anthony Albanese, have derided claims it is more than one page; No supporters – including Credlin and opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman ­Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – point to FOI documents and statements from voice proponents to back claims it is 26 pages.

Sales even provides an exact script to ABC presenters and reporters on how to shut down the claim it is 26 pages long and counter No camp complaints of bias.

In the email, she told ABC staff that the “source of this misinformation is an FOI search relating to the Uluru statement which produced 25 pages of minutes from meetings held with Indigenous communities”.

“These were part of a consultation process that helped to inform the final – one-page – Uluru statement,” Sales wrote.

“Those pages do not form part of the final Uluru statement.”

ABC Media Watch host Paul Barry slammed attempts to label Sky News host Peta Credlin’s editorial on the length of the Uluru Statement as ‘false information’ on Facebook.

Sales’s claims are at odds with Media Watch host Paul Barry, who on Monday said a “disputed” label should have been put on Credlin’s editorial that the Uluru statement is 26 pages long.

“The Uluru statement is expressed on one page, but there are many more pages of notes and background – where matters like a treaty and reparations are raised,” Barry said on Media Watch.

“And given that there may be some point in what Credlin is saying, we think a disputed label would be more appropriate.”

In the email to staff, Sales said “journalists should not be afraid to stand up for the facts and correct misinformation”.

“It can be intimidating to do this live or to find a clear set of words under pressure,” she said.

Sales outlined phrases on what to say to interviewees if the 26-page Uluru claim arose.

“Ms X, respectfully, I’ll correct your claim that the Uluru statement is a 26-page document.

“It is a one-page document, the other 25 pages were minutes collected during a consultation phase that do not form part of the final document.”

Sales said the journalist should then “move on … to your next question”.

She said if the interviewee attacked the ABC journalist, including calling them “biased”, they should then say things such as “It is inaccurate to ­suggest I am correcting the record ­because the ABC is ‘biased’ ” or “The ABC is far from the only ­organisation to call out the spread of this misinformation”.

An ABC spokeswoman said “The email to staff is self-explanatory and we have nothing further to add”.

Sales was contacted for comment.

The RMIT University’s Fact­Lab, which deemed Credlin’s reporting that the Uluru statement was 26 pages as “false information”, earlier in the week explained on its website that it worked “hand in hand” with RMIT ABC Fact Check.

However, The Australian can reveal FactLab has completely overhauled its website since, removing the “hand in hand” reference, deleting images of the RMIT FactLab’s staff and having no mention of the ABC on its homepage.

The website has also slapped on a disclaimer at the top of its homepage: “To keep up with the rapidly changing media landscape, we’re always updating our website. Stay tuned!”

The RMIT ABC Fact Check and RMIT FactLab are both run by director Russell Skelton but he too has been removed from the FactLab’s homepage.

An RMIT spokeswoman on Thursday said the website was “regularly reviewed to ensure staff, students and the public have access to the most up to date information about the university’s operations”.

“FactLab is an RMIT-operated research hub dedicated to debunking misinformation online and developing critical awareness about its origins and spread,” she said.

RMIT FactLab and RMIT-ABC Fact Check director Russell Skelton with his partner, ABC Melbourne mornings radio host Virgiina Trioli. Picture: Fiona Byrne

“RMIT ABC Fact Check is a jointly funded partnership between RMIT University and the ABC, dedicated to determining the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions.”

The FactCheck quashing Credlin’s claim the Statement was 26 pages long this week added an editor’s note: “This article was updated on August 20 to include up-to-date information, including quotes from Professor Megan Davis, to provide more context”.

Voice architect Professor Davis publicly said at the Sydney Peace Price last year that the statement was more than one page but has in recent weeks said the Uluru statement is “one page. It’s that simple.”