Q+A revealed as most complained about ABC show as ombudsman blames ‘organised campaign’ over alleged Israel-Gaza war bias

Q+A was the ABC’s most complained about show in 2023, drawing a staggering number of complaints in what has been called an “organised campaign” over alleged bias over a single episode covering the Israel-Gaza war.

The latest report from the national broadcaster’s independent ombudsman Fiona Cameron, released this week, detailed over 1900 complaints about the single episode of the flagship program.

Ms Cameron’s report revealed that 6539 complaints were lodged with the ombudsman in 2023 relating to matters broadcast or published - representing a five-year high.

51 per cent of those complaints concerned the Israel-Gaza war and another 11 per cent related to the Voice to Parliament.

There were 1974 complaints alone about the November 13 episode of Q&A.

According to the ombudsman, there was an “organised campaign” which alleged bias in favour of Israel.

The episode featured host Patricia Karvelas, Israel & Jewish Affairs Council chairman Mark Leibler, Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni, Labor MP Tim Watts, former Liberal MP Dave Sharma and UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

Ms Cameron previously concluded the program “included highly polarised views which were appropriately challenged by the host and critically discussed by other panellists” and “did not favour any perspective”.

The episode aired a month after the October 7 attacks by Hamas and Israel’s invasion of Gaza and was filmed without a studio audience.

The ombudsman said that excluding the organised campaign, 58 per cent of complaints relating to the episode alleged it was pro-Israel and 41 per cent alleged it was pro-Palestine.

“The strong reaction to the war episode of Q+A saw an increase in complaints alleging bias and inappropriate content across the reporting period,” the ABC Ombudsman said.

“Other programs most complained about include the News Online platform, 7.30, 7pm news and RN Breakfast.”

The ombudsman said that 92 issues complained about were found to be in breach of the ABC’s editorial standards, with 22 of them relating to AM Alice Springs’ reporting of a community meeting.

The ombudsman in February found the broadcast breached the ABC’s editorial guidelines concerning accuracy and impartiality.

“While complaint numbers are a useful reflection of audience engagement, often content that is uncomfortable attracts more criticism,” Ms Cameron said.

“The ABC needs to be mindful of this tension to avoid being fearful of delivering on charter obligations while being thick skinned enough to clarify and explain decisions and apologise where appropriate.”

The report follows major legal headaches for the national broadcaster after sacked ABC presenter Antoinette Lattouf lodged new legal proceedings against the national broadcaster over claims it breached its own workplace agreement by dismissing her.

The new legal action is in addition to Ms Latouf’s unlawful dismissal claim where she claims she was dumped from her role for sharing a Human Rights Watch social media post, and for racial discrimination.

Ms Lattouf made headlines after she was sacked from her role as a fill-in host for Sydney’s Mornings radio slot and ABC Sydney in December.

She has claimed she was dropped for sharing an Human Rights Watch Instagram post detailing allegations of the Israeli government is using starvation as a weapon of war in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Ms Lattouf has claimed she was ordered to go because she expressed “a political opinion and also because of her race”.

But the ABC has denied this, stating a decision was made to “not require” her for the final two days of her five-day contract.