‘How to save whales and produce gas’: ABC changes headline of interview with Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill | Australian Broadcasting Corporation

ABC News has changed the headline of an interview with the CEO of Woodside Energy, which was originally titled “How to Save Whales and Produce Gas,” after an environmental activist accused the network of running a political advertorial disguised as journalism.

The interview with Meg O’Neill, which was temporarily removed from YouTube, iView and ABC News, was later republished with an editor’s note that read: “This interview has been republished with an updated headline and thumbnail image to better reflect the content of the interview.”

The headline now reads: “Woodside CEO confirms changes to Browse project to address environmental concerns.”

The multi-billion dollar Woodside Browse gas export project has been deemed “unacceptable” by the state Environmental Protection Agency due to its impacts on marine life at Scott Reef.

Climate scientist Bill Hare, managing director of Climate Analytics, said the “ridiculous” headline came as “quite a shock” to him and that the content of the seven-minute interview with O’Neill was far from ABC standards.

“The interview is more like something you would see on Moscow television or on public broadcasters in China, where it looks more like an advertorial, a political advertorial,” Hare told Guardian Australia.

Hare was critical of the questions asked of O’Neill, saying that in his view the Woodside CEO’s statements had not been “meaningfully challenged”.

“The Woodside CEO’s statements have not been followed up or seriously challenged. Most of them are disputed.”

ABC News said the videos were temporarily removed from all platforms to change the headline.

“The interview was for The Business and focused on the company’s earnings and prospects,” an ABC News spokesperson said.

“This takes greenwashing to a new level,” Hare said. “It’s an innovation in greenwashing. It’s one of the most extraordinary innovations I’ve ever seen and for ABC to use it as a headline is just ridiculous.”

A question about mitigating potential impacts on marine life seemed to be the basis for the headline about saving the whales.

Interviewer: “Can Woodside do more to mitigate potential impacts on minke whales and vulnerable sea turtle nesting sites?”

O’Neill: “We have already made a number of changes to the Browse design to ensure that we minimise any potential impact on the environment.”

O’Neill said Woodside was working with the Australian Institute for Marine Science and the Western Australian Museum to “strengthen the nation’s understanding of marine life in this particular part of the world.”

Woodside suffered an embarrassing setback to its carbon footprint after its emissions plan was overwhelmingly rejected by shareholders at its annual general meeting earlier this year.

Former Walkley Award-winning ABC foreign correspondent Sophie McNeill, who is running for the Greens in the Western Australian election, also spoke critically about the video.

“It wasn’t just the wording,” McNeill said. “(ABC) repeated Woodside’s arguments and did not contradict any of O’Neill’s claims, many of which have been refuted by climate, energy and environmental experts.”

Woodside declined to comment.