A fictitious news article featuring Housing Minister Clare O’Neil, complete with a counterfeit SBS News logo, is currently making rounds on social media platforms.
The misleading post falsely claims that the Labor minister has sparked controversy with remarks about the “demographics of One Nation supporters.”
Although SBS News has been unable to determine the original source of this content, investigations have linked similar posts to private accounts dating back to June 28. In a parallel fact-checking effort, AAP FactCheck has also identified the same date in their analysis of this misinformation.
The fictitious narrative alleges that O’Neil referred to One Nation voters as “unintelligent” and implied they attended “public school.”
Representatives from O’Neil’s office have confirmed to SBS News that these statements are entirely fabricated.
A screenshot of O’Neil is also included in the fake story.
It’s from a separate video the minister posted to her personal social media profile in May regarding a Coalition plan to restrict access to welfare programs.
Signs disinformation spreading
An SBS spokesperson also confirmed that the SBS News logo had been misappropriated in the story.
“As one of Australia’s most trusted news organisations, SBS is committed to accurate, independent journalism. When we become aware of false content that misuses the SBS brand, we take appropriate action,” the spokesperson said.
Last month, an Australian content creator sparked backlash over a video that invoked racist stereotypes and included the branding of an SBS current affairs program.
In March, a graphic originally published by SBS News about Australian fuel reserves was deceptively edited and published by an Iranian state-aligned news outlet.
The 2026 Reuters Digital News report published last month found that misinformation (false or inaccurate information spread by mistake) and disinformation (false information spread deliberately) are causing concern for Australian news consumers.
More than three-quarters of Australians surveyed reported they were worried about what is real or fake on the internet.
“High concern about misinformation and distrust in news, particularly on social media, are strongly associated with higher levels of news avoidance,” the report said.
The fake O’Neil story was attributed to a “Political Reporter” and did not include the date it was published, which is not how SBS News attributes content.
The story was also not published to any SBS News platforms, including social media.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram has hidden some posts linking to the story from its platforms, citing that the content contains false information and has been “reviewed by third-party fact-checkers”. However, comments are still available on these posts. Others posts about this fake news story remain fully accessible online.
The eSafety commissioner also provides advice, including strategies to identify online misinformation and disinformation.
Comments, questions and general feedback about SBS’s content and services can be made by contacting SBS.