News

The Daily Telegraph used picture of wrong woman as drug overdose victim on front page

The Daily Telegraph used a picture of the wrong woman who it had identified as the victim of a drug overdose at the Stereosonic music festival over the weekend on its front page today.

The News Corp owned newspaper ran a prominent image of a young woman which it claimed was Sylvia Choi, who died after taking what was believed to be ecstasy at the music festival over the weekend.

However, police have since released the correct image of Choi, forcing the paper to change its articles online however at the time of publishing the Daily Telegraph’s digital edition with the wrong image was still live.

The Daily Telegraph Sonic Doom

The image of the wrong woman also ran top in The Daily Telegraph’s e-newsletter and Mumbrella understands it also ran on news.com.au.

The Daily Telegraph has since updated its website with the new image. It is currently not known who the other woman is.

Sylvia Choi

In September last year Fairfax Media used an image of the wrong man on three of its front pages in articles about a teenage terror-suspect shot by police.

In March this year the publisher reached an out of court settlement, which included a front page apology and letter to the community, a $20,000 donation to the construction of a proposed Afghan mosque in Doveton Victoria, and a confidential payment in damages, with the man.

News Corp declined to comment on how the image was identified and sourced and if the newspaper would be issuing a correction.

Miranda Ward

Update 5.58pm:

The Daily Telegraph has just sent out a news wrap with a subject line and headline which spells the dead woman’s name incorrectly as Syvlia rather than Sylvia.

daily telegraph syvlia edm daily telegraph syvlia strap

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