Australia’s ABC Ordered To Pay $145,000 To Journalist Fired Over Social Media Post On Gaza

Last Updated:September 25, 2025, 01:46 IST

Antoinette Lattouf was fired in 2023, just three days into a five-day contract, after reposting a Human Rights Watch video on Gaza on Instagram

Journalist Antoinette Lattouf. (Image via X/@antoinette_news)

Australia’s public broadcaster, ABC, has been ordered to pay $145,000 to journalist Antoinette Lattouf after she was unfairly dismissed over a social media post related to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Lattouf was fired in December 2023, just three days into a five-day casual contract with ABC, after reposting a Human Rights Watch video on Instagram about the Gaza conflict. She had added the comment, “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war.”

Federal Court Judge Darryl Rangiah ruled that ABC broke employment law by terminating Lattouf partly because of her political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

Speaking on Wednesday, Judge Rangiah said the broadcaster’s actions had serious consequences for Lattouf. He said that for many people, employment is not just about money but also about their sense of purpose, identity, and self-worth.

The court ordered ABC to pay Lattouf $98,900, in addition to $46,100 already determined earlier this year. The total compensation of $145,000 must be paid within 28 days.

Lattouf said ABC had spent more than $2 million of taxpayer money fighting her case. She stressed that the issue was never about money but about “accountability and the integrity of the information our public broadcaster gives us”.

“I hope the ABC takes this opportunity to restore credibility, regain trust, and re-establish integrity, because our democracy depends on a strong fourth estate,” Lattouf said on social media.

ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks said the broadcaster would “continue to reflect on the court’s findings” and acknowledged that lessons had been learned. “We must be better,” he said.

The case has come amid international criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza, which has created a severe humanitarian crisis. Last month, a UN-backed body officially declared famine in parts of Gaza.

On September 16, UN investigators accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, nearly two years after the conflict began following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

(With inputs from AFP)

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