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The New Zealand Press Council
should be censured over its recent decision to uphold a complaint made by
Freda Briggs on grounds of unfairness (June 13). Rather than address valid
criticism of her exaggerated claims of child abuse within NZ schools, Briggs,
since abetted by the Press Council, closed criticism down by misrepresenting
claims made by her critics. In the course of debate Briggs
claimed that her critics alleged that she lacked qualifications; that her
critics were in error in claiming she supported claims of wide-spread
existence of ritual abuse groups; that her critics deny the existence of
child abuse. None of these claims are supported by the record. Who was being unfair to whom? The Press Council's ruling sets an
unsettling precedent in a forum designed to encourage debate.
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