Ben Roberts-Smith v the media

Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, is suing three of the country’s most trusted newspapers for defamation over articles he says falsely accuse him of war crimes. Whatever the outcome, the ramifications will be immense for public interest journalism, Australia’s military and the man venerated as a modern-day war hero. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts or Spotify

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Episodes

Part eight: the pursuit of truth

At the heart of the defamation case Ben Roberts-Smith launched against three of Australia’s biggest newspapers were the articles published by Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters. In this episode Ben Doherty speaks to these journalists about what led them to start this investigation, how they overcame their doubts and fears to publish articles that accused Australia’s most decorated living soldier of war crimes, and what the results of the civil case mean for Australia’s military legacy

Jul 11, 2023•43 min

Part seven: a hero’s downfall

Australia’s most decorated living soldier has lost his defamation case against the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age and the Canberra Times. A federal court judge has found that the newspapers proved in their defence that Ben Roberts-Smith murdered unarmed prisoners while serving in the Australian military in Afghanistan. In this episode, host Ben Doherty combs through Justice Anthony Besanko’s full verdict which describes how Australia’s most decorated soldier lied to save his reputation How to li...

Jun 08, 2023•31 min

Ben Roberts-Smith v the media part six: judgment day

Australia’s most decorated living soldier has lost his defamation case against the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age and the Canberra Times. A federal court judge has found that the newspapers proved in their defence that Ben Roberts-Smith either murdered or was complicit in and responsible for the murder of unarmed civilians while serving in the Australian military in Afghanistan. Ben Doherty reports from court, sifting through the judge’s ruling and what it means for public interest journalism

Jun 01, 2023•17 min

Ben Roberts-Smith v the media part five: the letters

In June 2018, an SAS soldier known in this defamation trial as Person 18 says he received two threatening letters at his barracks in Perth. In their defence, the newspapers allege that these letters were written by Ben Roberts-Smith. He denies this outright. In this episode, Ben Doherty explains why the newspapers think these letters are important to their defence of this case and we hear testimony from Ben Roberts-Smith, as well as his former employee John McLeod and ex-wife Emma Roberts, who a...

Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 2 min

Ben Roberts-Smith v the media part four: the tunnel

On 12 April 2009, the SAS arrive in the village of Kakarak in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province. It’s a Taliban stronghold where an Australian soldier was killed just a month earlier. It’s here, in a compound known as Whiskey 108, that one of the most contested events in this extraordinary defamation trial takes place. In their defence, the newspapers allege that at Whiskey 108 Ben Roberts-Smith murdered an Afghan man with a prosthetic leg and ordered a junior member of his patrol to murder another...

Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 7 min

Ben Roberts-Smith v the media part three: the affair

An affair between Ben Roberts-Smith and a witness known to the court as Person 17 is one of the key contested elements of this extraordinary defamation trial. The newspapers as part of their defence allege that Roberts-Smith committed an act of domestic violence against Person 17. He denies this allegation, saying it is a complete fabrication. In this episode, host Ben Doherty takes us through both sides, detailing the breakdown of Roberts-Smith’s marriage to Emma Roberts and his affair with Per...

Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 17 min

Ben Roberts-Smith v the media part two: death in Darwan

In the aftermath of an attack on Australian soldiers by a rogue Afghan soldier, the SAS is sent to the Taliban-controlled village of Darwan. They arrive by helicopter at dawn, looking for Hekmatullah, the soldier who shot dead three of their comrades. It is during this raid, the newspapers allege in court as part of their defence, that Ben Roberts-Smith kicked an unarmed, handcuffed Afghan man off a cliff and then ordered another soldier to shoot him dead. Roberts-Smith denies this outright and ...

Oct 28, 2022•1 hr 16 min

Ben Roberts-Smith v the media part one: reputation

In the defamation trial of the century, Australia’s most decorated living soldier is seeking to defend his reputation against reports in three newspapers that he says falsely accuse him of being a war criminal. His lawyers argue Ben Roberts-Smith has been unfairly targeted by envious comrades and assisted by credulous journalists. The newspapers’ lawyers say their reporting is true, and that Roberts-Smith broke the ‘moral and legal rules of military engagement’, something he denies outright. But...

Oct 28, 2022•41 min

Introducing Ben Roberts-Smith v the media

Oct 26, 2022•10 min

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