The incident adds to a series of events where media organisations have become targets.
The ABC’s Melbourne office has been vandalised with red paint amid contention about coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Overnight, the main window of the national broadcaster’s office in Southbank, Melbourne, was marked with the words, “Tell the truth about Palestine,” in white paint.
Police have opened an investigation into the “criminal damage incident.”
“Officers were called to reports unknown offenders had spray painted sections of the building on Southbank Boulevard about 3.50 am,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
An ABC spokesman confirmed there were no injuries from the incident.
In an earlier protest on Dec. 20, 40 portraits of Palestinian journalists who lost their lives in the conflict were placed on the doors and windows of the ABC office.
At the same time, activists blocked the entrance to Nine’s television and newspaper masthead offices.
Free Palestine Melbourne said they blocked The Age headquarters entrance in Docklands wearing press vests and helmets to “protest the Australian media silence on journalist deaths in Gaza.”
“To protest the killings of 95 journalists by Israel in its war on Gaza, activists have staged a ‘die-in’ at the Channel 9/The Age headquarters this morning calling for the Australian media to end its censorship, bias, and conflicts of interest in its reporting on Palestine,” the group, wrote on X.
“Journalists have a duty to report the truth, with fairness, yet Palestine continues to be reported through a biased, Orientalist perspective that betrays oppressed Palestinians.”
The group previously placed fake corpses outside seven Labor MPs’ offices in November.
Similar incident around the world have sprung up after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, resulting in 1,200 deaths and up to 200 people taken hostage.
Subsequently, Israel’s military response in Gaza has led to around 20,000 deaths, according to the UN.
ABC Presenter Considered Legal Action Over Sacking
Meanwhile, ABC Sydney’s breakfast radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf is considering her options after she was sacked for sharing pro-Palestinian content on her social media account on Dec. 20Ms. Lattouf raised questions in an article about allegations that pro-Palestine protesters chanted “gas the Jews” at a rally near the Sydney Opera House.
A Jewish woman expressed her concerns to ABC Managing Director David Anderson, asserting that Ms. Lattouf demonstrated bias by disputing the authenticity of the chants, according to The Australian.
“Her actions, in my opinion, contribute to a rewriting of history that is not only inaccurate but also harmful,” the woman said.
Ms. Lattouf, who was temporarily hosting the breakfast show in place of Sarah Macdonald, declared she was “currently considering her legal options.”
“I believe I was terminated unlawfully,” she said.
She added the termination is “not a win for journalism or critical, fair thinking.”
“I am very disappointed by the ABC’s decision.”
Henry Jom contributed to this article.
