Australian national broadcaster ABC faces backlash over alleged ‘institutional racism’

ISTANBUL

Australia’s national broadcaster, ABC, has faced sharp criticism, with some groups accusing it of “institutional racism”.

“The shocking revelation is undeniable proof of the institutional racism entrenched within ABC and its attempted erasure of Arab peoples,” the Lebanese Muslim Association said on Friday.

The backlash follows remarks by ABC’s editor-in-chief, David Anderson, who on Thursday said that he had not “formed a view as to whether there is or there isn’t” a “Lebanese race” when asked about the matter.

ABC has been under intense scrutiny since it fired journalist Antoinette Lattouf.

Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian journalist, was hired by ABC for a five-day engagement in December 2023 but was sacked just three days into the job after sharing a social media post on Israel’s war on Gaza.

She had reposted a Human Rights Watch article on Instagram detailing how Israeli authorities in Gaza allegedly used starvation as a weapon of war. ABC claimed her post breached its editorial policy.

The broadcaster later argued in court that Lattouf’s allegations of racism should be dismissed, stating that the existence of a distinct Lebanese, Arab, or Middle Eastern “race” was a “complex subject.”

“The fact that Mr. Anderson, the editor-in-chief of Australia's national broadcaster, repeatedly evaded a simple and direct question on whether he acknowledges the Lebanese race is disgraceful,” said the Lebanese Muslim Association, adding: “ABC has openly confirmed what we have always feared, it does not even recognize us as a people.”

The association has called for a public apology and intervention from the Minister for Communications.