ABC’s Media Watch backs Sky News host Peta Credlin after Facebook censored her Uluru Statement from the Heart claim – as ‘biased’ fact checkers are exposed

ABC’s Media Watch has backed Sky News presenter Peta Credlin after the conservative commentator accused Facebook of censorship.

Credlin made waves on the social media platform last week after her on-camera editorial about the true length of the Uluru Statement from the Heart was labeled “false information” and banned from the site.

Media Watch host Paul Barry called Credlin “the political warrior of News Corp,” but conceded that Facebook may have gone too far in criticizing its claim that the document was longer than the oft-touted single page.

“Given that Credlin is saying something, we think a ‘controversial’ label would be more appropriate,” Barry said on Monday night’s Media Watch episode.

However, Barry did not fully support Credlin’s claim that the Uluru statement was 26 pages long rather than the one page being 440 words.

It comes as questions arise about how fact-checkers used by Facebook are funded, with Sky News revealing a secret commercial agreement between the parent company of social media giant Meta and RMIT University’s ‘Fact Lab’.

Facebook said Credlin’s Uluru Statement claim was “verified by independent fact-checkers” and directed users away from the video to the RMIT check facts.

“The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a one-page document, as attested by its authors,” the fact-check reads.

“Paper released under FOI includes the statement, but also includes 25 pages of minutes of meetings held with Indigenous communities, which are not part of the Uluru statement of heart.”

Despite calling the claim “contested,” Barry essentially agreed with the fact-check.

“The Uluru statement is on one page, but there are many more pages of notes and background information, which the Australian public does not vote on when issues such as a treaty and reparations are discussed,” he said.

An editorial by Credlin posted by Sky News was blocked on Facebook. Those who wanted to see the video were first sent to a ‘fact check’ by RMIT University

The Uluru Statement full documentationreleased under Freedom of Information (FOI) by the premier ministerial advisory body, the National Indigenous Australians Agency, has 126 pages.

It records meetings leading up to the 2017 First Nations National Constitutional Convention, but the final section, titled Document 14, lays out the Uluru statement from the heart.

It then continues with 25 pages describing historical and contemporary injustices against the indigenous people, and lays out a ‘road map’ on how to rectify these injustices.

This section outlines the purpose of the Voice and of other bodies that could be established, such as a potential ‘truth commission’.

It also calls for the creation of a Makarrata Commission (Treaty Commission) to oversee a national treaty between the Voice to Parliament and Parliament itself, followed by regional treaties between First Nation groups and governments.

Credlin (pictured with husband Brian Loughnane) emphasizes that the full Uluru Statement of the Heart is 26 pages rather than the 440 words usually quoted

“Every vote to Parliament must be designed to support and promote a treaty-making process,” the full document read.

Authors of the Uluru statement, including Noel Pearson, Pat Anderson and Megan Davis, have rejected claims that it consists of more than the one-page document.

This is despite Professor Davis saying on two previous occasions that the full statement was ‘prolonged…about 18 to 20 pages’.

Credlin’s claims have led to a bitter clash with fellow Sky News host Chris Kenny.

Kenny, a strong supporter of The Voice, said the statement contained moves towards a treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, as well as calls for more ‘truth’ about colonization ‘were nonsense’.

“Credlin’s claim hinges on the fact that in some public service Word document or archival record they put several more pages in the same set of documents containing the Uluru statement,” Kenny said.

A roadmap from the 26-page document that Credlin says is the heart’s full Uluru statement

However, Credlin replied that government FOI lawyers had twice confirmed to the person who filed the FOI request that the 26-page addendum was “the full Uluru statement of the heart.”

RMIT Fact Lab said it received another response from the NIAA, stating that “the Uluru statement of the heart is a one-page document.”

In response to a question from Media Watch, Meta said the RMIT Fact Lab was “independent,” which Barry accepted.

However, Sky News has disputed how ‘arm’s length’ Meta’s fact-checking unit is, as it exposed a ‘disturbing, foreign-funded attempt to block the political debate and coverage surrounding The Voice’.

Sky News reported on Wednesday that Meta has signed a secret commercial contract with RMIT, which funnels about $740,000 a year from an Irish subsidiary to the Melbourne-based university for fact-checking.

Credlin’s fellow Sky News host Chris Kenny rejects her claim that the Uluru statement contains more than one page of text

An example of tweets made by RMIT Fact Lab boss Russell Skelton in support of the Voice to Parliament, while Sky News claimed he was critical of ‘conservative views’

News reporter Jack Houghton accused the US tech giant of allowing RMIT to block journalismdespite the platform knowing it was in violation of rules Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg set to distance himself from fact-checking responsibilities.

“An audit of RMIT Voice fact-checks found that the 17 Voice checks between May 3 and June 23 this year all focused on anti-Voice opinions or views,” he said.

He claimed that from RMIT Fact Lab boss Russell Skelton “unashamedly partisan on social media, and has published dozens of tweets criticizing conservative views.”

Mr Skelton’s timeline on X, formerly known as Twitter, includes several posts supporting the Voice, including one on April 21 highlighting an ABC article quoting the Solicitor General saying this is an ‘improvement’ of the constitution would be.

On April 6, Mr Skelton posted an SBS article entitled ‘Noel Pearson targets Peter Dutton’s opposition to Labour’s Voice proposal’.

On 11 April, Mr Skelton reposted tweets from Labor MPs Kate Charney and Bridget Archer praising Liberal MP Juilan Leesor for resigning from the shadow cabinet for supporting the Voice.

Mr. Skelton is married to high-profile presenter Virginia Trioli, ABC Melbourne radio morning presenter, who was once in charge of the national broadcaster’s own fact-checking.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday that he would announce the date of the referendum to decide whether to establish a Voice to Parliament next week. It is generally expected to take place on October 14.

Approval of the referendum requires a majority of yes votes, but also approval in a majority of states.