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Professor Megan Davis criticises the ABC for platforming the No campaign in a since deleted post

Professor Megan Davis criticised the ABC for its coverage of the upcoming referendum and said it ‘continually platforms the No campaign’.

Prominent Yes campaigner Megan Davis has criticised the ABC for continually platforming leaders of the No campaign.

On Sunday morning one of the key voice opponents, Indigenous businessman Warren Mundine, was interviewed on the ABC’s Insiders program by David Speers, which prompted Professor Davis to share her concerns about the public broadcaster giving more airtime to the No camp.

The Indigenous professor is one of the Yes campaign’s most prominent figureheads and she posted on her social media account in on the platform X, previously Twitter, that she was not impressed with the ABC’s giving more coverage to her opponents.

The tweet was deleted late on Sunday.

“It’s astonishing to me that the ABC Insiders show has WARREN MUNDINE on this morning,” she posted.

“Jacinta (Price) at NPC, Kerrynne Liddle on 7.30 report.

“The shemozzle of 4 Corners.

“ABC just continually platforms the NO campaign. #Insiders”.

By Sunday afternoon her post had attracted nearly 500 reposts, 55 quote reposts and more than 1500 likes.

Liberal Senator Liddle appeared on Thursday’s 7.30 in a 13-minute story led by the ABC’s Speers.

The ABC also aired opposition Indigenous spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday.

Her address, which was originally due to appear only on the ABC’s News channel, was shown on the ABC’s main channel as well.

Professor Davis also took aim at Four Corners, which last Monday aired a 45-minute episode called “Muddy Waters: Renegotiating Australia’s democracy”, hosted by the ABC’s voice correspondent and Indigenous journalist Dan Bourchier.

Professor Davis reposted numerous comments criticising the ABC’s coverage including one post that read: “ABC’s blatant obvious campaign against YES is worrying.

“There is an obvious editorial directive here.

“MD (managing director) and news director need to be questioned.”

The ABC has been contacted for comment.

Sophie Elsworth
Sophie ElsworthEurope Correspondent

Sophie is Europe correspondent for News Corporation Australia based in London. Her role includes covering all the big issues in Europe reporting for titles including The Daily and Sunday Telegraphs, daily and Sunday Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail and Brisbane’s Sunday Mail and Adelaide’s The Advertiser and Sunday Mail as well as regional and community brands. She has worked at numerous News Corp publications throughout her career spanning more than 20 years and was media writer at The Australian, based in Melbourne, for four years before moving to the UK in 2024. She regularly appears on Sky News Australia.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/professor-megan-davis-criticises-the-abc-for-platforming-the-no-campaign/news-story/8b26119a65688e93b1e4b43351f72568