The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has shown continued journalistic bias in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict, independent research group ABC Watch claimed in its new report, which has been submitted to the Royal Commission into antisemitism.
ABC is a publicly funded national broadcaster and, as such, has a legal and ethical obligation to report impartially and objectively.
ABC Watch, however, found that the ABC has repeatedly failed to meet that obligation, and has either wittingly or unwittingly promoted “extremist narratives that vilify Israel and, by extension, Jews.”
This, it said, contributes to antisemitism within the Australian community, which in some instances has resulted in intimidation, doxxing, harassment, arson attacks, and the Bondi shooting.
One of the examples given in the report is that ABC maintained a “famine” narrative by the repeated use of distressing imagery of children with severe pre-existing genetic or medical conditions, falsely presented as victims of starvation caused by Israel, despite available medical explanations and the presence of healthy family members.
One of the most noteworthy cases is that of Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, who was born with cerebral palsy. Despite this, on July 27, 2025, his image was shown during an interview with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and framed as proof of starvation, with Albanese condemning Israel for “breaching international law.”
ABC Watch said that, by failing to show the cause of emaciation was genetic, the ABC broadcast a false claim.
ABC pushed UN baby starvation claim
Another example of misleading reporting was the publication of UN humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher’s, May 2025 claim that “14,000 babies [in Gaza] will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them.” This claim was quickly proven to be false. ABC, however, reported it as “shocking” and “a devastating warning.”
While ABC did later change Fletcher’s original quote to “14,000 are at risk of dying in the next 48 hours” instead of “14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours,” the report said this was issued too late and was inadequate to repair the damage already done.
Then there was the case of a story fabricated by ABC about a Palestinian boy whom the channel claimed had been shot dead by Israel, despite the ABC possessing information that he was alive. A leaked email chain between an ABC reporter and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation showed that, on the day of the broadcast, ABC reporters were told by the boy’s stepmother that she believed he was alive, but they either omitted or suppressed this information.
The ABC also ignored publicly available evidence that categorically refuted the claims.
“By broadcasting a false accusation of Jewish soldiers killing Arab children – already debunked and corrected, while knowingly withholding exculpatory evidence, the ABC effectively fueled rampant antisemitic sentiment in Australia, during a national crisis,” the report says.
The report also writes that ABC relied on Gaza-based “journalists” operating under Hamas control, many of whom are affiliated with Hamas itself. For example, ABC contributor Abubaker Abed openly glorified Yahya Sinwar while celebrating the October 7 massacre. He has shown solidarity with Hamas. The ABC, however, presented him as a writer and reporter, without referring to his ideological positions.
“The ABC relies heavily on local Gazans presented as ‘journalists,’ despite Gaza being a territory controlled by jihadist groups where free journalism is impossible. No serious media organization would claim to have independent journalists operating under ISIS, al-Qaeda, in North Korea, or in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Yet, when it comes to Hamas-controlled Gaza, all standards are completely abandoned.”
The biased reporting during the Israel-Hamas War did not cease after the Bondi attack, the report alleges. Instead, the ABC’s pattern of hostility, selective framing, and misinformation did not slow down, but “continued across multiple areas of reporting, reinforcing false narratives.”
It concludes that the ABC has repeatedly framed legitimate political positions as moral crimes and fueled hostility towards all those who support Israel. The effect, it argues, was to legitimize hate against Jewish Australians.
“The sheer scale of the journalistic failures and demonstrated bias – as the journalistic failures on the Gaza war always went one way, namely against Israel – contributed directly to radicalization in society and intensified militant antisemitism across Australia,” the report concludes.