The Daily Telegraph breached suicide reporting guidelines by saying ‘Go for it, boaties’: Press Council
CONTENT WARNING: This post mentions mental ill-health and suicide and may be triggering for some readers.
If you need urgent help, please contact:
Lifeline 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au
MensLine Australia 1300 789 978 www.mensline.org.au
Beyond Blue 1300 224 636 www.beyondblue.org.au
Australia’s newspaper watchdog, the Australian Press Council (APC), has found The Daily Telegraph breached its standards in its reporting about offshore asylum seekers.
The APC requires its members not to sensationalise, glamorise of trivialise suicides. Reporting on suicide, or suicide attempts, must also not stigmatise those involved and should not be given undue prominence.
A 2019 post by Tim Blair which ran online on The Daily Telegraph, however, was found to be mocking in tone and trivialising the suicide attempts of offshore asylum seekers.