Federal court finds ABC unlawfully sacked Antoinette Lattouf after 'orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists'

A court found on Wednesday that Australia's public broadcaster had unlawfully dismissed a journalist over a social media post about Israel’s war on Gaza.

ABC fired radio journalist Antoinette Lattouf after she had re-posted to her Instagram profile a video report from Human Rights Watch, along with the comment "HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war".

The journalist took legal action after she was fired in December 2023, while she was only three days into a five-day casual contract with the organisation.

She reiterated that she was not given explicit direction by management over what she could and could not post, as well as "parameters" for social media usage. She also said there were no guidelines regarding sharing "facts" and "reputable sources".

The court found that ABC had broken employment law by dismissing her for reasons that included her holding "political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza," Federal Court Justice Darryl Rangiah said in his ruling.

Senior ABC managers were in a "a state of panic" after an "orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists to have Ms Lattouf taken off air", Rangiah said.

Rangiah asserted that Lattouf was "merely provided with advice that it would be best not to post anything controversial about the war".

The broadcaster has now apologised after being ordered to pay her $45,000 in compensation, along with a further financial penalty that is yet to be decided.

In a statement, Lattouf said: "…It is now June 2025 and Palestinian children are still being starved. We see their images every day. Emaciated. Skeletal. Scavenging through the rubble for scraps. This unspeakable suffering is not accidental, it is engineered, deliberately".

"Starving and killing children is a war crime…I was punished for my political opinion. I won’t be taking any questions," she added.

The judge said in the case that senior management at the broadcaster had turned to a "state of panic" over Lattouf’s post and quickly decided to remove her from the air "within the hour".

Apology issued

ABC’s managing director issued a statement apologising for the company’s actions.

"We regret how the decision to remove Ms Lattouf from air was handled and the distress occasioned her," he said, adding "it’s clear the matter was not handled in line with our values and expectations".

Marks added: "We also let down our staff and audiences, and this failure has caused understandable concern among the public and inside the organisation."

Since the case, ABC confirmed that they have reviewed their guidelines and will replace their personal use of social media rules due to "confusion".

"Due to confusion expressed about the Personal Use of Social Media Guidelines, which was canvassed during the case, these have been reviewed and will be replaced with new Public Comment Guidelines. We will talk more about this in coming weeks," Marks said.

The organisation’s current guidelines only have instructions informing employees to "not imply ABC endorsement" of an individual's personal views.

Chris Merritt, a legal expert and commentator, said the judgment was a "slap in the face for ABC, particularly for its management systems".

He added that the way the case was handled by the employers was "completely amateurish, going right back to how she was hired".

Speaking to reporters, Merritt said: "The ABC needs to answer a few questions about that as well, because her social media, the content of her social media, was well-known".

He explained that it was unusual that ABC would employ her during the war on Gaza, despite already being aware of her social media profiles and content she shares.

The case comes amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, which has killed over 61,700 Palestinians and plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis. Leading rights group Amnesty International has determined that the war constitutes genocide.