Lisa Wilkinson went to the witness stand on Friday morning and was immediately asked whether she stood by her response about metadata on Thursday.
She was asked Thursday why she didn't ask for the metadata of a photo of a bruise on Brittany Higgins' thigh, which she said was the result of the alleged rape.
Wilkinson told the Federal Court she was not “tech savvy” and did not know what metadata was.
Bruce Lehrmann's barrister, Matthew Richardson SC, asked her about three tweets she wrote in 2014 and 2015 – and read them out to the court.
In a 2014 tweet, Wilkinson announced she would speak to former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Labor MP Tanya Plibersek about metadata on The Today Show.
“In conversation with (Malcolm Turnbull and Tanya Plibersek) tomoz about metadata privacy, surrogacy laws and Clive Palmer's bromance,” she wrote.
In 2015, she tweeted about metadata again twice.
In the first tweet, Wilkinson appeared outraged that former South Australian MP Jamie Briggs was threatening to use a Crikey journalist's metadata against him.
“I'll check your metadata, I'm sure I'll find something better!!” he wrote at the time.
Wilkinson replied: 'The moment an assistant minister threatens to go through a journalist's metadata. Is that meant to be funny?'
Six days later she wrote: 'Sorry, over 300,000 #metadata requests are made every year? How many are approved? And who arbitrates?'
He asked: When you read those tweets now, are you sure you didn't know what metadata was?'
She replied, “This is from 8.5 years ago, so I'm looking at it now.”
'What we were talking about the other day was that the details of a photo contain information about when it was taken.
'Looking at this, I think I understand that the point was about phone logs, emails and search history.
“I didn't know photos had metadata.”
Mr Richardson asked: 'Do you describe yourself as a serious investigative journalist?'
She bit back and said she only called herself a “journalist.”
Mr Richardson said: 'Yesterday you were emphatic when you said you were not a tabloid journalist.'
She repeated, “I describe myself as a journalist, Mr. Richardson.”
He said she had been a journalist for 40 years and suggested that “it was highly unlikely that you didn't know what metadata was.”
She replied, “I disagree.”