{"id":887712,"date":"2026-09-11T04:26:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T04:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/887712\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T04:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T04:26:13","slug":"lured-in-by-albo-slur-news24-misses-the-joke-and-mistakes-comedy-skit-for-real-news-report-caitlin-cassidy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/887712\/","title":{"rendered":"Lured in by Albo \u2018slur\u2019, News24 misses the joke and mistakes comedy skit for real news report | Caitlin Cassidy"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s nothing worse than being left out of a joke. At News24<\/a>, though, they didn\u2019t get it in the first place. The presenter James Macpherson kicked an own goal this week, presenting a satirical video as an authentic Seven News segment while hosting The Bolt Report.<\/p>\n

The video<\/a> was created by the sports comedy group Kick it Forward, joking that one of the members of the group, Josh Garlepp, had quit social media after copping abuse for posting about Fremantle\u2019s finals loss on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were 220 comments targeting me physically, mentally, my mum, my dad, my dog,\u201d he said in the clip, which was presented as a mock Seven News report, adding that he had received insults including \u201cbaby flog dick\u201d and \u201ctall lanky freak\u201d.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, News24 failed to pick up that it was a work of comedy, with Macpherson playing a section of the clip during Tuesday\u2019s program, credited to \u201cSeven News\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to warn you, the abuse was shocking,\u201d Macpherson grimly declared. \u201cAccording to the Seven News report, he was called every derogatory name under the sun \u2026 He was called a flog, a cuck, he was called woke, he was called a baby penis, and he was called \u2026 Albo!\u201d<\/p>\n

Macpherson suggested the clip showed that it was now a \u201ccommon online slur\u201d to be called an \u201cAlbo\u201d. He also used it to illustrate his anger at the federal government\u2019s proposed reforms to social media algorithms, which he claimed were trying to \u201crestrict the flow of information\u201d and shut down dissent.<\/p>\n

Comedian and podcaster Josh Garlepp says the clip was \u2018parody, made by me and then used against the algorithm legislation\u2019. Photograph: Morgan Hancock\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Garlepp was quick to pick up on the plug, posting to X<\/a> that he didn\u2019t expect News24 to be \u201cas gullible and digitally illiterate as their target audience\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only missing the joke but repurposing for their own agenda,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe story was parody, made by me and then used against the algorithm legislation. How dumb are these people?\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, News24 issued a correction<\/a> noting that the clip was \u201cnot a genuine news report\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNews24 apologises for the error. The segment was removed from all online versions of the episode,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n

A \u2018truffle hound\u2019 for fake news<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first correction News24 has issued since Macpherson took the reins temporarily at The Bolt Report.<\/p>\n

On 2 September Rowan Dean, appearing alongside Macpherson, falsely claimed that the race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, had not appeared at the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion.<\/p>\n

The pair were discussing comments Sivaraman made<\/a> to Guardian Australia after a slew of racist social media remarks about Australians missing in the catastrophic Nepal-Tibet floods underneath articles posted by mainstream media outlets.<\/p>\n

Sivaraman connected the comments to Australia\u2019s immigration debate, which he said was \u201camplified by the rhetoric of far-right populist parties\u201d and indicative of a \u201creal rise in white supremacy ideology\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dean and Macpherson weren\u2019t so sure. \u201cThis guy is a kind of truffle hound for racism,\u201d Dean claimed, before asking: \u201cWhy wasn\u2019t the race discrimination commissioner at the royal commission \u2026 talking about the racism that is absolutely inherent in many of the teachings that go on in radical Islamic places?\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, he was. Not only did he appear, Sivaraman provided the commissioner with two submissions and a 32-page document<\/a> including recommendations to improve social cohesion and providing up-to-date racial discrimination complaint data.<\/p>\n

On 7 September News24 posted a correction, noting that the comment by Dean, whom it described as a \u201cguest\u201d on the program, was \u201cincorrect\u201d. \u201cThe Commissioner appeared as a witness during the Royal Commission\u2019s hearings in Sydney on 20 August 2026,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n

Where\u2019s Karl?<\/p>\n

Has anyone seen Karl Stefanovic<\/a>? The media has been in a panic this week after noting that his podcast, which previously ran multiple times a week, has mysteriously fallen silent.<\/p>\n

The Karl Stefanovic Show hasn\u2019t uploaded a new episode since 24 August, when he interviewed the anti-ageing surgeon Dr Buck Parker.<\/p>\n

A still from Karl Stefanovic\u2019s podcast series on YouTube<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s Instagram page has been similarly dormant since then, and its Facebook page appears to have been deleted. Stefanovic hasn\u2019t posted to his personal Instagram since 29 August, when he uploaded a video happily roaming an orchard in Griffith. \u201cSpring is sprunging,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cBees are rooting.\u201d<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know if he\u2019s still skipping around the orchard, as he hasn\u2019t provided comment to any media outlets about his disappearance.<\/p>\n

Among those to investigate the mystery was Mary Madigan at news.com.au, who pointed out<\/a> that the halt in production of his podcast came after he was dropped from the media company ARN.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere were industry murmurs that ARN had gone to the trouble of signing Stefanovic not just to stick him in a Friday arvo slot but to groom him to take over the highly coveted Sydney breakfast slot,\u201d she wrote on Wednesday. \u201cA spot that desperately needs filling since the shocking axing of The Kyle and Jackie O Show in March.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Madigan neglected to disclose was that she is now employed by Kyle Sandilands<\/a>. It was just the fourth article she had contributed to news.com.au, where she is still listed as a wealth and culture reporter, since joining Sandilands as a presenter on his own media venture a month ago.<\/p>\n

On Thursday Madigan was back, revealing that Stefanovic had \u201cexpressed interest\u201d in working with her boss. This time she did disclose that she worked on his program.<\/p>\n

According to the article<\/a>, Stefanovic had informed Sandilands he was on holiday with his wife. The pair had also had \u201cprivate chats\u201d about Stefanovic joining \u201cKing Kyle\u201d as an afternoon drive host. We\u2019ll see how that goes.<\/p>\n

Glasses down<\/p>\n

Nine Entertainment has put its foot down on Meta glasses.<\/p>\n

In an internal communication to staff, management said that effective 1 September, the use of smart glasses and wearable devices would not be permitted in workplaces and facilities to safeguard \u201cpersonal privacy\u201d and \u201ccommercial information\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis policy is designed to safeguard personal privacy, confidential commercial information and intellectual property,\u201d the memo said. \u201cExceptions for newsgathering or operational requirements will need to be approved by your Executive Team Leader and Risk. Exceptions for medical or accessibility reasons will need to be granted by Nine Group People & Culture and Security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CanCan you tell if someone is filming you with Meta glasses? \u2013 video<\/p>\n

Meta\u2019s AI-powered smart glasses, launched a few months ago, have been labelled \u201cpervert glasses\u201d, despite a glossy advertising campaign featuring Kylie Jenner.<\/p>\n

The technology editor at the Sydney Morning Herald, David Swan, was not immune to their stink, writing an opinion piece<\/a> this month under the headline: \u201cMy smart glasses were brilliant. Now people think I\u2019m a creep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swan was using them for an innocent reason: to film his two-year-old son playing football. \u201cHere\u2019s my take, as someone who likes the glasses and wants to keep using them,\u201d he wrote. \u201cLet\u2019s pause. Not forever, and not with an import ban \u2026 Just long enough to work out the rules. We\u2019re not ready for smart glasses, but maybe we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do you cover a neo-Nazi?<\/p>\n

How do you cover neo-Nazis without platforming neo-Nazis? That\u2019s a question media outlets had to grapple with this week as the high court heard a challenge<\/a> from the White Australia party, formerly known as the National Socialist Network, which was designated an illegal hate group<\/a> in May.<\/p>\n

Most have kept their reporting strictly to what was heard in court, and excluded statements made in press conferences held by the group between hearings.<\/p>\n

The high court is hearing a challenge from the White Australia party, which was designated as an illegal hate group. Photograph: JP Offord\/Rex\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Seven News, however, included a clip from the neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell addressing the media alongside members of the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that the white people in Australia should have the right to vote for a political party that does not wish for the ethnic replacement of white people,\u201d Sewell said in the broadcast clip, which did describe his party as \u201cwhite supremacist\u201d and a \u201chate group\u201d.<\/p>\n

The White Australia party has also had some sympathetic content creators on the ground, including the rightwing commentator Hugo Lennon, commonly known as \u201causpilled\u201d, who spoke at the latest March for Australia rally<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His videos have received tens of thousands of views online. In them he has warned against the \u201cpunitive effect\u201d of the ban without detailing why it was enacted<\/a> in the first place.<\/p>\n