Adjudication No. 1 (September 1976) [1976] APC 1

Adjudication No. 1 (September 1976)

The Sherbet pop group complained to the Council of a front-page report in Melbourne Truth of July 31, 1976, about a party given by the group. The report stated that four pop personalities became violently ill and that another 30 guests were affected by a mystery illness after drinking orange juice at the party.

The report stated that guests at the party believed a practical joker had "spiked" the orange with some foreign substance. It quoted two women guests as saying that they were violently ill after drinking the orange juice.

Truth did not suggest in the report that any of the Sherbet group was implicated in the spiking, if it occurred. It quoted .both the manager of the Sherbet Group and the manager of the hotel where the party was held as having denied knowledge of anyone having been taken ill.

The Council received from a number of people present at the party statements, some of them sworn. These all denied as did the complainants, that anyone was ill at the party.

Truth declined to present any information for the assistance of the Council, basing its refusal upon legal considerations. On the material before it the Council is not satisfied that Truth sufficiently checked the facts before publishing the story. In particular it does not appear to have made any. inquiry of two people named in the report as having been physically ill in front of the guests.

The Council upholds the complaint.

The Sherbet group also complained that the Sydney Daily Mirror of July 26 published substantially the same report but with additions. One of the two women was quoted as having said that the drinks may have been "laced" with something psychedelic that someone had suggested that possibly it was mandrax and that the guests, who were affected including teenagers, numbered at least 40. Moreover it featured the report on the front page with bold headlines stating "40 drugged at Sherbet party" and it issued a poster stating "Sherbet party: 40 drugged".

The Daily. Mirror report did not suggest that any of the Sherbet group had anything to do with drugs. The ground of the complaint was that, the group. depending for their livelihood on their reputations in the field of popular entertainment, were likely to be adversely affected by any association of their names with drugs, and for that reason the Daily Mirror's report. headlines and poster damaged their good name.

Before the Press Council's Complaints Committee, the Daily Mirror asserted that it had relied for its facts upon information supplied in the normal course by Truth.

The Council, however, upholds the complaint and finds that there was no justification for the Daily Mirror's treatment of the report, particularly in its headlines and poster.