Crikey to use Public Interest defence in Murdoch defamation case
• This will be the first test of the law in Australia
Online news site Crikey has confirmed it has filed its defence to the defamation claim made by Lachlan Murdoch against the company and its journalists.
Private Media, Crikey’s publisher, has announced they will adopt a new public interest defence in the defamation case, disputing that the article at the centre of the case inflicted serious harm to the reputation of Murdoch.
The article in question from June 29 named the Murdoch family as “unindicted co-conspirators” of former US President Donald Trump following the 2021 US Capitol riots. Murdoch filed defamation proceedings last month, alleging the article conveys a range of false and defamatory meanings.
In the new public interest defence – which will be the first test of the law in Australia – Private Media must prove the article concerned an issue of public interest, as it relates to opinion writing as opposed to investigative reporting.
In a statement, CEO of Private Media, Will Hayward said the company simply denies that they have defamed Lachlan Murdoch.
“We do not believe that the average Australian of reasonable intelligence (the test for this part of defamation law) would have read our article and interpreted it in the way Mr Murdoch claims,” he said.
“We take issue with whether Crikey should be prevented by law from stating honestly held opinions, as an act of free speech, on a matter of obvious and high public interest.
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"It is our opinion that Fox News actively supported and promoted a concerted attempt to jeopardise American democracy. That attempt began with Donald Trump’s false claims of a “stolen” election and culminated in the violent mob assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
Hayward siad that it is fair that someone might disagree with the opinion the article expressed, but thinks it is a reasonable argument to make, and the right to express such an opinion is critical to the functioning of an open, modern democracy.
“We will continue to hold the rich and powerful to account, as we have always done at Crikey,” Hayward said.
The preliminary hearing for the case will be held on Friday, 23 September.
