JUNE 13, 2020

GIVE THE GIFT OF CRIKEY | TIP OFF | VIEW IN BROWSER

Stop me if you have heard this one before (apologies to Mr Morrissey) but the Crikey paywall is down. Yes, we are all free for the next two weeks, and there’s more: new subscribers can choose what they pay for a subscription. Read the details here.

It’s the perfect time to share Crikey with your friends.

Meantime, have a feast on the best of this week in Crikey, including Inq’s dive into the dangerous, unregulated world of anti-vax influencers; Gina Rushton on the victims of Johnson & Johnson vaginal mesh procedures; the unstoppable tide of Black Lives Matter; and much more.

I hope you enjoy. And one final thing: we are very keen for all subscribers to get our Daily Insider — and for reasons out of our control some inboxes were saying it’s too big. We’ve made a few minor changes to the daily newsletter to make it a tad slimmer, but just as nourishing. We’re interested in your feedback on those changes. Send your thoughts to boss@crikey.com.au.

Thanks for you support — we literally couldn’t do it without you — and don’t forget to fill your boots with Crikey for the next two weeks.

Have a great weekend,

Peter Fray
Editor-in-chief

A users’ guide to ASIO’s latest power grab

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

The head of ASIO is demanding new laws to undermine encrypted communications. Here's a guide to what those laws will really be used for, and why we all benefit from encryption.

Junk science: dodgy COVID research sparks mini-pandemic as papers retracted

AMBER SCHULTZ 4 minute read

Journals face pressure to publish headline-grabbing work quickly, but in the rush some standards could be glossed over.

Regulating the conspiracy

Anti-vaxxers reap rewards for spreading utter crap — and there’s no stopping them

DAVID HARDAKER 5 minute read

There's big money to be made peddling lies and misinformation about vaccinations. So why isn't the government doing anything about it?

Failure to regulate online conspiracy fantasies puts real lives at risk

DAVID HARDAKER 5 minute read

Online influencers are pushing potentially harmful medical advice — and regulatory bodies seem incapable of stopping them.

Independent. Always? Liberal-linked Nine joins the Liberal war on industry super

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

The Sydney Morning Herald wants industry super funds to disclose their links with unions. Too bad the paper fails to disclose its own links with and support for the Liberal Party — and is that why it has now joined the war on industry super?

Mesh-injured women win in the courts and Senate yet still wait for compensation

“	When more than 1300 women with pelvic mesh devices won a seven-year legal battle against Johnson & Johnson in November, the judgement was so lengthy that one Federal Court staffer remarked they’d “need a forklift” to carry the printed version. — Gina Rushton

Women injured in vaginal mesh procedures have won a class action against Johnson & Johnson, but as the case drags on to an appeal, they are still waiting for compensation

Faced with a progressive wave, the Oz falls into self-delusion

GUY RUNDLE 8 minute read

In attempting to address Black Lives Matter, the Oz's Paul Kelly is obsessed with the notion that the elite have distorted the 'natural' liberal state of the West. His most desperate ploy is to not acknowledge that the West's history is not liberal at all.

Government loses sight of the real goal on childcare — and stuffs the politics as well

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

If no one reports on the demise of the media, is it really happening?

What matters to the local Black Lives Matter movement

GEORGIA WILKINS 2 minute read

How will the local Black LIves Matter movement play out?

Australia shouldn’t expect another free ride from China

3 minute read

China provided crucial support to Australia after the 2008 global financial crisis. Today, they must look after themselves.

War in the newsroom

War in the newsroom: when journalists prefer silos to the marketplace of ideas

JANINE PERRETT 4 minute read

When free speech is shouted down by the very people whose job it is to promote it, the media is in danger of becoming an echo chamber.

The moral clarity of journalism is lost if the news really is from nowhere

CHRISTOPHER WARREN 3 minute read

Coverage of Black Lives Matter proves that Australian media will never achieve moral clarity unless it can identify its own racism as well as it can others'.

NSW’s new greyhound ‘welfare’ code offers anything but

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

The NSW government wants to water down existing greyhound welfare requirements in a new code of practice for the greyhound racing industry that would confine dogs to tiny cages at all times.

Latino Americans are dying by cop too, but fears of la migra stall mass mobilisation

ANTONIO CASTILLO 4 minute read

As the US sees mass protests against police violence, the voice of a significant portion of victims — Latino Americans — has been missing.

Is the economy already getting better? Let’s look at the data

JASON MURPHY 3 minute read

Yes, it's still a recession. But the latest figures are surprisingly hopeful.