The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published by Nationwide News Pty Limited. Over the years, it has faced numerous controversies, particularly regarding alleged breaches of media ethics in its coverage of LGBTQ people.
Breaches of media ethics in coverage of LGBTQ people
In 2017, a report by LGBTQ rights watchdog Rainbow Rights Watch, analysing more than 8million published words, found that reporting in Australian press publications Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, and The Australian were calculated to inflame fear, uncertainty, and confusion about transgender people and issues, and that the Australian Press Council was ineffectual at upholding long term balance and good media ethics.
On 9 June 2021, Sydney University researcher Dr Alexandra Garcia published a corpus linguistics analysis of reporting about LGBTQ Australians by the Daily Telegraph and affiliated Newscorp mastheads, the Herald Sun and The Australian. Following an analysis of more than one million published words, Dr Garcia concluded that the Daily Telegraph and its associated publications covered transgender people and issues substantially more than any other organization and the coverage was overwhelmingly negative, with more than 90% of articles representing transgender Australians in a strongly negative light. The research found that the publication of Advisory Guidelines by the Australian Press Council had not improved the standard of reporting, with most reports and columns being characterized by fear-mongering, misrepresentation of medical science, divisive rhetoric, derogatory language, and suppression and under-representation of the voice of transgender people. One commentator suggested that reporting standards amounted to "outright bombardment of harassment" targeted at transgender Australians, with unethical reports also being exploited by extreme right-wing groups to mobilize hate against minorities.
Reporting on transgender woman accused of violence found to be prejudicial On 7 January 2017 Evie Amati, a transgender woman, attacked customers of a 7-Eleven in Enmore, New South Wales, Sydney with an axe. Four days later, an article written by journalist Tim Blair was published on The Daily Telegraph's website. The article was headlined "Allegedly Axie Evie" and referred to Ms Amati as a "tranny" who had been "chopped herself" and as a "previous he [...] who used to be known as Karl.". The article established no relevance or public interest in the sensational and prominent references to the person's transgender status.
In September 2018, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal considered whether the article constituted unlawful vilification through its "gratuitous references to", and "ridicule of" the woman's transgender status. The Tribunal found that the Daily Telegraph published the article with "apparent disregard for the injurious effect it might have on transgender people". The Tribunal also held that "it is evident that [the journalist] was seeking to make fun of Ms Amati and probably transgender people more generally", and that the "attempt at humour was in poor taste and completely devoid of empathy or sensitivity". The Tribunal also held that the article "contributes to the perpetration and perpetuation of demeaning negative stereotypes and a lack of acceptance of transgender people within the community". The Tribunal ultimately concluded that, whilst "close to the line", the article did not reach the threshold for vilification.
Lawyer Michael Bradley wrote an analysis of the case for political news website Crikey, arguing that the publication of such articles should not be unlawful, but instead that the Daily Telegraph should have sufficient social responsibility to cease publishing the author's "recklessly hurtful attempts at wit – because he did, and does, harm".
As of September 2018, the article has been removed from the website of the Daily Telegraph and replaced with a notice stating "This article is no longer available."
On 18 October 2019, after an investigation spanning 1,011 days, the Australian Press Council concluded that the article breached its Statement of General Principles.
Infographic stating youth homosexuality was a sickness found to be prejudicial On 12 July 2017, the Daily Telegraph published an article headlined "Fat Chance Of Being Healthy" in print. The article was syndicated online under the headline "Junk food, alcohol and drugs are fueling health crisis in young adults". The article contained an infographic that canvassed social health concerns, such as alcohol usage, obesity, and drug dependency, for which "Young Aussies have only themselves to blame". The infographic included "same sex attraction" among the condemnable health problems it canvassed.
A number of LGBTI Australians complained that the article was prejudicial, saying that sexual orientation is neither a choice nor a medical problem, and such coverage contributes to prejudice, shame and suicide risk for young same-sex attracted people. The 'blameworthiness' implicit in the headline was alleged to perpetuate negative stereotypes about gay children. The article drew condemnation from the ABC's Media Watch, Sydney radio station 2 DAY FM, Pedestrian TV, and Junkee.
Chris Dore, the publication's Chief Editor, responded to the criticism from the Daily Telegraph social media accounts, saying the story had been "misinterpreted" and that it "in no way suggests, or intends to suggest, that same-sex relationships are unhealthy. There is no judgement expressed at all in the story other than diet."
The press regulator, the Australian Press Council, was asked to consider whether the article complied with its Statement of General Principles. The Council concluded its investigations five months later. It upheld the complaint, saying "the reference to ill health and blame in the headlines, with the statistic about same-sex attraction displayed among factors such as obesity and drug use, suggested same-sex attraction is unhealthy and blameworthy. As a result, the article caused substantial offence, distress, prejudice and risk to public health and safety, and there was no public interest justifying this."
The Daily Telegraph was further sanctioned by the Australian Press Council for failing to comply with the requirements around publication of adjudication findings. The Press Council required the publisher to republish the print component of the adjudication, as it was not fully compliant with its requirements in the first instance. The reprint was published on 24 January 2018. The Daily Telegraph claimed that "nothing sinister had occurred [in the non-compliance]", and blamed the misdemeanour on a production error.
Opinion column containing pejorative term 'faggot' On 2 May 2019, the Daily Telegraph published an article about a US case of a teacher who refused to use the appropriate pronouns for a transgender student. The article prominently incorporated a video with the word 'faggot' appearing twice, once in capitalised letters. The thumbnail for the video also prominently incorporated the word 'faggot'. On 17 September 2019, following an investigation spanning 16 months, the Australian Press Council found in Adjudication #1785 that "the word 'faggot' is most used as a pejorative term to describe gay men". The council also found that the inclusion of the word could reasonably be read as "demeaning and mocking of gay men ... and others with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics".
Reporting about Australian Defence Force LGBTQ Inclusion Guide found to be misleading The Australian press regulator, the Australian Press Council, concluded on 13 May 2019 that an article published by the Daily Telegraph about an Australian Defence Force "LGBTI Diversity and Inclusion Guide" breached its General Principles because the report was inaccurate and misleading. The report's headline was found to have misled readers into believing that the Australian Defence Force had banned service members from using the terms "he" and "she" out of concern for the sensitivities of gender diverse service members.
Interview discussing transgender children that was found to be misleading On 12 June 2019, the Australian Press Council concluded a 14-month investigation into an article and associated podcast published by the Daily Telegraph about transgender children. It concluded that the article breached its General Principles because factual claims about medical efficacy were likely to be misleading. The impugned material concerned an interview in April 2018 between columnist Miranda Devine and Ryan T. Anderson of the conservative American think-tank, The Heritage Foundation. The material substantially focused on medical care for transgender children and adolescents, and claimed that there exists "no evidence that these hormones are safe to be used on kids, no evidence of any reduction in self-harm or suicide".
Opinion column on transgender children found to be misleading The Australian Press Council sanctioned a further article by columnist Miranda Devine about Australian transgender children, headlined "What madness can justify mutilating our children?" The piece referred to medical procedures for gender transition as "mutilation", "child surgical abuse" and a "monstrous assault on adolescents' developing bodies".
The Australian Press Council concluded in June 2019 that the article breached its Standards of Practice. It held that the claim of "no evidence that changing sex will reduce the incidence of self-harm or suicide or lessen the impact of other associated mental states" was misleading and expressed in such absolute terms as to be inaccurate.
The ABC's Media Watch criticised the publication for "lack of balance" and for putting religious and political motivations ahead of truth, balanced facts and the public interest in evidence-based medical care.
Gratuitous emphasis on LGBTQ status
On 11 March 2020, the Daily Telegraph published an article by journalist Toby Vue about a NSW murder victim who was transgender. The article included prominent references to the victim's transgender status in the subheadline and in the body in of the article. The victim's transgender status was irrelevant to the killing. In response to a complaint, the Australian Press Council asked the publisher to comment on whether the references were gratuitous. The Daily Telegraph editorial team, led by Executive Editor Ben English and Managing Editor Greg Thomson, tried to argue that the woman's transgender status was relevant because it "was referred to in court proceedings". The Australian Press Council upheld the complaint on 7 June 2023, saying "The Council notes that the victim's transgender status was only referred to in the sentencing judgment, which was published approximately 12 months after the article was published.... The Council notes that there was no evidence provided that stated or implied that, during the hearing of the matter, the victim's transgender status was raised as a contributing factor to her manslaughter."