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The ABC has gone to ‘great lengths’ to be ‘quite shocking’ in Heston Russell reporting
Australian Defence Force Veteran Heston Russell says the ABC has gone to “great lengths” to be “quite shocking” with their comments against him. This comes after Mr Russell lodged a criminal complaint against the ABC for the publication of sexually explicit images without his consent. Mr Russell says the national broadcaster published images of him on their website despite being told they did not have his “approval to have them or to distribute them”. “Essentially, these photos were shared, not sold, shared between myself and another consenting adult privately and then the ABC journalist has gone to an online troll forum and acquired somehow these photos from someone privately; they weren’t posted on the internet,” Mr Russell told Sky News Australia. “And then has used them with the intent to essentially attack me, defame me maliciously, which is under the new revenge porn laws as per the Queensland police have informed me. He said he has been a “personal target” of the ABC, including by the journalist who published the article, Josh Robertson. “They didn’t have to publish those photos; they could have explained it all in the text, and they’ve gone to great lengths to be quite shocking with some of their comments.” The ABC released a statement arguing there were no legal or editorial reasons the sexually-explicit images should be removed. “The story reports on serious allegations that were made by a veterans charity about Heston Russell, an aspiring politician and the founder of the Australian Values Party, which are clearly in the public interest to know about,” the ABC statement said. “The allegations directly relate to explicit images which Mr Russell sold to the public via the website OnlyFans. “Therefore the images, which the ABC has blurred, are central to the story. There is no legal or editorial reason why they should be removed.”
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