ABC retracts mass-murder slur over ANU row

The ABC edits an article comparing The Australian’s Greg Sheridan and Chris Kenny to Norwegian killer Anders Breivik.

University of Sydney professor Dirk Moses.

An article published by the ABC that compared two of The Australian’s senior journalists to Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik has been edited to remove the reference after it was found it breached editorial guidelines.

The ABC’s religion and ethics website yesterday published a contributor article by University of Sydney professor Dirk Moses on the recent decision by ANU to end talks with the Sydney-based Ramsay Centre over a new Western civilisation degree

Professor Moses described The Australian’ s foreign editor Greg Sheridan and associate ­editor Chris Kenny as “right-wing commentariat” and concluded their recent articles about the ANU decision were in line with the views of Breivik and Steve Bannon, a former strategist to US President Donald Trump.

“Do members of the right-wing commentariat think that Western countries are succumbing to a poisonous cocktail of multiculturalism, Muslim immigration, political correctness and cultural Marxism that dilutes the white population and brainwashes young people at school and university?” Professor Moses wrote.

“It seems that, much like ­Anders Breivik and Steve Bannon, they do.

“We are on the precipice of disaster, they seem to believe.”

The ABC said last night it had amended the piece.

“The item was an opinion piece from an external contributor,” an ABC spokeswoman said. “The ­reference was removed because it was not consistent with the ABC’s editorial standards.”

A note at the end of the piece said the article had been edited to “remove reference to Anders Breivik”.

Breivik, who has since changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen, ­massacred 77 people in July 2011 in Norway, in the deadliest attack since World War II.

Professor Moses said yesterday his article was “careful” to ­reference Breivik’s ideology, not his actions.

“I did not intend to imply anyone was a mass murderer ­(obviously),” he said.

“The wording is careful: ‘It seems that, much like Anders Breivik and Steve Bannon, they do. We are on the precipice of disaster, they seem to believe.’

“The coupling with Bannon, no murderer, indicates that it’s the ideas I’m talking about.

“I think some people have overreached themselves with their ­incendiary rhetoric.”