Ombudsman: SBS breached accuracy rules on ICJ ruling

The SBS ombudsman has upheld a complaint by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) that an SBS World News report misrepresented the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) findings on genocide allegations against Israel.

In a decision dated November 4, SBS ombudsman Amy Stockwell found that a report broadcast on September 15 breached SBS’s accuracy requirements by stating that the ICJ had “found it plausible Israel is committing genocide”.

In its complaint, AIJAC pointed to the text of the ICJ’s January 2024 provisional measures order. The order found that Palestinians in Gaza had a plausible right to be protected from genocide, not that Israel was plausibly committing genocide.

AIJAC also cited former ICJ president Joan Donoghue. In an April 2024 BBC interview, she expressed concern about media mischaracterisation of the decision, saying the court “didn’t decide that the claim of genocide was plausible”.

Stockwell concluded that the report had adopted the court’s language of “plausibility” while attributing to it a finding about Israel’s conduct that the court had not made. She also found that the report’s reference to Israel rejecting the ruling did not correct the inaccuracy.

According to the ombudsman’s decision, SBS apologised for the breach. Its director of news and current affairs will remind staff of the importance of precision when reporting judicial decisions, the YouTube version of the report will be removed, and the findings will inform future accuracy training.

AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein welcomed the decision and called on the ABC to reconsider its approach. The ABC ombudsman upheld a complaint about a similar characterisation of the ICJ’s findings in August 2024, but rejected three AIJAC complaints about similar characterisations in October 2025.

“We welcome the SBS Ombudsman’s willingness to acknowledge this serious factual error, and her recommendation of steps SBS should take to prevent it recurring,” Rubenstein said.

“Her decision demonstrates the importance of reporters and commentators checking what the ICJ actually ruled, rather than repeating a misleading shorthand that fundamentally changes the meaning of its findings but that has become all too common.

“What is particularly concerning is the inconsistency in the ABC Ombudsman’s own decisions on what the ICJ said in its finding.

“The distinction is not about a technicality. There is a fundamental difference between finding that Palestinians have a plausible right to protection from genocide, and finding it plausible that Israel is committing genocide. The ICJ made the former finding, not the latter, and its own then-president, Judge Joan Donoghue, has made that clear.

“The ABC should reconsider its own approach in light of the carefully reasoned decision by the SBS Ombudsman. Australians are entitled to expect both our public broadcasters will report major international judicial decisions accurately and consistently.”