The AFP raids we have seen on the home of Annika Smethurst and the ABC offices last week are a blatant, brazen attack on democracy, press freedom and the community.
We should all be very concerned by this. The AFP – the Government’s law enforcement arm – is getting extremely broad warrants to disrupt the vital work of journalists. They rifled through a reporter’s home and personal belongings and scoured through emails of our ABC.
If these unprecedented raids don’t ring alarm bells for us, nothing will.
These are dangerous and scary tactics on so many levels.
Whether or not they were designed to do so, their result is the intimidation of whistleblowers, journalists and news organisations.
For whistleblowers in particular, these raids are a clear and chilling message that if you dare to speak to a journalist in the public interest — if you dare to reveal information the public has a right to know — the AFP is going to come after you.
This will stop citizens from divulging what they know, this will stop ordinary people from coming forward with information they know should be in the public domain #OurABC #PressFreedom #auspol
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.