'Vile Jewish threats' or a doctored image?

Pro-Palestinian activist Zee Mazloum has filed a statement of claim against The Australian, demanding that the newspaper withdraw an article which accused Mazloum of inciting antisemitic violence against Jewish people in Melbourne.

In the article, which was published as an exclusive on the evening of November 8 and carried the headline ‘Activist Zee Mazloum posted vile Jewish threats’, The Australian’s NSW political correspondent Alexi Demetriadi claimed that an Instagram account run by Mazloum made threats against Jewish residents of Brunswick in an Instagram story posted on March 15 of this year.

As evidence, The Australian published an image alongside the article which it claimed was a screenshot of the Instagram story in question. The image includes text in which the author promises to target Jewish businesses and houses in Brunswick. (I am not sharing the image or quoting the text within it so as to not further the publication of the original material.)

On November 6, Demetriadi contacted Hue Consulting, where Mazloum works, asking for Hue’s reaction “to Zee Mazloum’s language targeting Jewish people in Brunswick”.

Later that day Mazloum’s lawyer, Michael Bradley of Marque Lawyers, replied to Demetriadi, stating that Mazloum had advised him that “the quoted Instagram post was not made or posted by them on Instagram or anywhere else”.

Bradley also requested Demetriadi send him the Instagram post he was referring to. In response, Demetriadi sent through the image that would later appear in The Australian article, asserting it had been published on an account run by Mazloum on March 15.

After contacting Mazloum for confirmation, Bradley replied to Demetriadi that Mazloum “did not make or publish the post attached to your email on 15 March or any other time”.

“Below is a post that Mazloum published on the Instagram page on 5 February 2024. As you will see, it does not include the superimposed text but has different text superimposed.”

Demetriadi received Bradley’s message at 8:01pm on November 8, about half an hour after the story was published on The Australian’s website. The article remains live, complete with the image Mazloum asserts was doctored.

Acting on Mazloum’s behalf, Bradley has issued The Australian with a concerns notice — typically the first step in resolving a dispute of alleged defamation. Besides outlining the grievances of the person alleging defamation, a concerns notice typically includes an “offer to make amends” within 28 days, such as allowing the publisher to take down the material or apologise.

Responding to questions, Demetriadi said the following:

“Prior to publication, we had a copy of a screenshot (different to that provided by Mr Bradley), which we consider clearly demonstrates that the text in issue was posted to Mazloum's Instagram account.

“We have responded to the concerns notice sent by Mr Bradley and stand by the article.”