Politics

People Are Piling Onto Channel 7 For A “Racist” African Gangs Program Airing Tonight

Where's the TV special on violence against women?

by Max Koslowski  8 July 2018
African Gangs Sunday Night

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

Migrant community leaders and commentators have criticised Channel 7 show Sunday Night as “racist” ahead of an episode on African gangs tonight.

On Saturday Sunday Night released a 40 second promotional clip that drew backlash on Twitter. The clip cycles through shaky footage of crowds and ominous-looking CCTV footage.

A reporter is seen asking a police spokesman questions about the gangs: “African gangs, do they exist or not?” the reporter begins, before later in the clip asking “do you admit that there is a crime problem?”.

The clip also airs a segment of an interview with Elaine French, an alleged victim of African gang violence.

“I was dumbfounded, I thought I was dead,” she says, “My hands are shaking. I’m just a shell of a person.”

People quickly started claiming that the show was creating racial tensions by falsely exaggerating the issue of gang violence.

Many were quick to compare the threat of African gangs to the threat of violence against women.

Lawyer and migrant activist Maker Mayek even fired up a hashtag in response to the promotional clip, calling on supporters to write #NotMyAustralia in opposition to Channel 7’s story.

Channel 7 has faced claims of racist broadcasting behaviour before: earlier in the year, in a Sunday night evening news broadcast, 7 News interviewed infamous far-right leader Blair Cottrell. In the interview, they failed to mention Cottrell’s recent criminal conviction for racial vilification or his past praise of Adolf Hitler.

Last month, Sunday Night aired an interview with former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce, partner Vikki Campion and new baby boy Sebastian Joyce — an interview they allegedly paid $150,000 for.

You can watch Sunday Night’s African gang promo clip below: