Sydney man Benjamin Cohen, who was wrongly named on air by Seven News as the Bondi Junction killer, has reached a confidential settlement with the network.
The university student engaged defamation lawyers and sent a concerns notice to Seven 10 days ago. The network offered to make amends and Cohen has accepted the terms.
Jeff Howard, the managing director and CEO of Seven who took over from James Warburton a week ago, told Cohen he accepted the identification “was a grave mistake and that these assertions were entirely false and without basis”.
“Seven withdraws the false allegations unreservedly and apologises to you for the harm you and your family have suffered as a result of Seven’s statements about you,” Howard said in a letter to Cohen released by his lawyers.
On the Sunday morning after the Bondi stabbings, Seven’s breakfast show Weekend Sunrise and its YouTube channel named Cohen as the perpetrator without confirmation from the police.
During a live cross from Bondi Junction to the studio, Sunrise co-host Matt Shirvington said the killer was “40-year-old Benjamin Cohen dressed in a Kangaroos ARL jersey”.
Another reporter repeated the false claim a few minutes later.
“The attacker, 40-year-old Benjamin Cohen, is known to police, his motives are not yet known, he was working on his own,” the other reporter said. On YouTube, a caption referred to Cohen as the attacker.
In the letter, Howard explained a Seven producer mistakenly believed that information relating to a 40-year-old named “Benjamin Cohen” had been confirmed as correct information regarding the Westfield Bondi Junction attacker.
“This led to the inclusion on Seven’s broadcast news at approximately 6.05am and 6.15am of the words referred to in the concerns notice and for a short time on Seven’s social media,” he said.
“The error quickly became apparent and no further broadcast of the name ‘Benjamin Cohen’ was made in Seven’s ongoing news coverage. Seven made attempts to find a contact number for you but did not have one until your mother rang the newsroom.
“Seven’s staff, including especially its on-air presenters Mr Shirvington and Ms [Lucy] McLeod, are devastated that the error was made and that it has affected you.
“Seven wishes to assure you that the error originated at the producer level and that Seven’s presenters were in no way involved in suggesting or scripting the words which were published.
“Both Mr Shirvington and Ms McLeod nevertheless wish to offer their own personal apology to you for the hurt and distress caused. Whilst Seven does not suggest that it is relevant to your reaction, we nevertheless note that the staff members involved are deeply remorseful and traumatised by the mistake.”
Cohen’s lawyer Patrick George said he was also instructed to make representations to the police commissioner “concerning the conduct of certain persons on social media who originated, agitated or facilitated this dangerous and harmful false accusation”.
On the Saturday night after the stabbings, Cohen’s LinkedIn profile was shared on X by accounts falsely claiming he resembled the attacker.
Cohen issued a statement via his lawyers: “Users who abuse a platform to target individuals or communities should be held accountable for the consequences of their actions and platforms should be more accountable for the content they host.”
An offer to make amends must include an offer to pay expenses reasonably incurred by the aggrieved person and may include an apology or an offer to pay compensation.
Several hours after Cohen was named, New South Wales police revealed the identity of then-deceased attacker as Joel Cauchi – a 40-year-old from Queensland.
In 2022 another man was wrongly identified as Cleo Smith’s alleged kidnapper by the Seven Network. He reached a confidential settlement in the supreme court of Western Australia.
