MEDIA SHAME FILE
Outlet: ABC News (Australian state media)
Headline: ‘Migration Watch’ unmasked
Summary: We must confess that we were surprised by this segment.
Seeing the promo clips of an upcoming Media Watch attack on Migration Watch, we assumed the long-running ABC program would do a similar piece to Amanda Meade’s, which at least pretended to target media giants The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail Australia and 2GB, as they don’t usually stoop so low as to attack individuals, especially not those outside of the media.
But no, inner city cuckservative host Paul Barry, who did not answer our questions about the suspicious timing of his and Meade’s ideologically aligned and nearly identical pieces, went mask off and decided to turn the full firepower of Australia’s bloated national broadcaster on 29-year-old political staffer and Migration Watch (described by the program as “tiny”) founder Jordan Knight.
But despite trying to frame Mr Knight as insignificant and unpopular by childishly mocking the number of his Facebook followers, Media Watch clearly sees him and his organisation as a threat, worthy of one-third of the program’s weekly content.
They are worried about the impact he is making, and the influence of his ideas, and are therefore trying to shut him up. At the same time, just like Meade, their aim is to bully other media outlets out of talking about the dangers of immigration.
Sadly for Media Watch, Mr Knight shows no signs of being intimidated, and his follower count has surged as a result of the free publicity. Whether the Tele, the Mail and 2GB continue to publish him remains to be seen, but we hope they are not so easily cowed.
To make matters worse, Media Watch’s social media posts were swamped with support for Mr Knight, despite their mismatched followings.
Barry also appeared emotional during the segment, raising his voice to declare “I am one!” when talking about immigrants, which might explain why the segment contained a number of errors and dubious claims. Indeed, the show came across more like commentary than an impartial examination of the issue.
A thorough breakdown of all of Barry’s mistakes would turn this piece into an essay, but interested readers can view our questions to Barry below, which highlight the many problems with the segment and the host’s biased approach.
We sought comment from Paul Barry. He did not get back to us.
Key Quote: “If the media promote Jordan Knight’s inflammatory claims without challenging them they could help provoke exactly the sort of conflict that Knight is warning about.”
Subtext: “Don’t criticise immigration or the ABC will come after you.”
Dear @TheRealPBarry,
Noticer News is writing an article for our Media Shame File on your segment about Migration Watch and Jordan Knight yesterday.
We have a few questions, and since you decided to publibly demand comment from Mr Knight on X, we are taking the same approach:…
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) May 7, 2024
