The Project has apologised after inaccurately portraying a peaceful pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne as a violent event by using footage of a different protest.
The segment initially aired on Sunday following a rally where thousands of people marched to show their support for Palestine and Lebanon as conflicts with Israel continue. The protest was widely reported to be peaceful and included a march, speeches and people placing paper kites with the names of children who had tragically died during the conflict written on them.
However, during the segment on The Project, footage from a different protest was shown featuring riot squads and protestors setting bins on fire, giving the impression that it had turned violent.
On Monday, ABC’s Media Watch called out Channel 10 and The Project for using misleading footage taken from a protest about a guns expo protest which the news program had reported on in a segment four weeks prior.
On Wednesday night’s episode of The Project, host Sarah Harris delivered an apology for the misleading footage.
“Before we go to break, we need to correct an error that went to air on Sunday night,” she said.
“Our story on a rally in Melbourne included a few seconds of footage from a different protest altogether. This was a mistake, and risked mischaracterising the events of the day, and should never have happened. It was not deliberate.
“We apologise and we’re reviewing processes to make sure it does not happen again.”
In a separate statement, Channel 10 apologised for the mistake.
“Archive footage was erroneously used within a report that aired on The Sunday Project about peaceful pro-Palestine protests,” a spokesperson said.
“Once this error was confirmed, the report was deleted from all platforms. We sincerely apologise for any distress this may have caused viewers.”
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