News.com.au’s same-sex marriage ‘violent clash’ piece inaccurate and misleading, rules press watchdog

A news.com.au article relating to a ‘clash’ between ‘yes’ and ‘no’ same-sex marriage voters has been condemned by the press watchdog, as it was reliant on the account of one witness and the reporter had based their story on footage from a television report.

The article in question – ‘Marriage equality supporters clash with churchgoers in Brisbane protest’ – was published on September 8, and reported an incident outside a Brisbane church. It claimed protestors, who were outside the church, were ‘attacked with cars’ as they met to oppose a “homophobic forum”.

News.com.au reported the account of a single protestor, that was treated by paramedics