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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Charlotte Graham-McLay

Morning Mail: how false claims spread after Bondi Junction attack; Israel to ‘exact the price’ from Iran; Lehrmann defamation judgment due

Police tape outside the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre after the stabbing attack.
Police tape outside the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre after the stabbing attack. Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

Good morning. Saturday’s knife attack at Bondi Junction, where Queensland man Joel Cauchi killed six people, shows how events with global interest have become opportunities for social media accounts to make inflammatory claims, or to fit the incident into a predetermined narrative. On the weekend, tens of thousands of accounts falsely identified the killer, and some falsely linked the attack to Islamist terrorism.

In other developments around the attack, Cauchi’s family released a statement saying they were “still trying to comprehend what has happened”.

Meanwhile, a verdict is expected in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case today, and Israel says it will “exact the price” from Iran for its mass missile and drone attack.

Australia

World

Full Story

How the Bondi Junction stabbing attack unfolded

Seven people died in the stabbing attack at Bondi Junction Westfield, including the perpetrator, Joel Cauchi. Police said he suffered from mental health problems. NSW state correspondent Tamsin Rose tells Nour Haydar what happened on Saturday afternoon, and production editor Nikki Marshall describes being inside the shopping centre at the time of the attack.

In-depth

The comedian Joe Lycett and pop star Robbie Williams sat down for a free-wheeling and funny conversation about Williams’s prolific drawing and why he’s posting his art on social media.

“I find myself creating something every day, and escaping into creation in my mind, and the more time I spent doing that, the less time I spend self-sabotaging,” Williams says.

Not the news

Guardian Australia’s crack team of TV critics, aged two to seven, review Bluey’s longest-ever episode, The Sign (28 minutes), in which the Heeler house is put up for sale and a wedding is on the cards.

My favourite part was when they got married,” says Finia, seven. “It was a cute bit of the story. Aunt Frisky was so beautiful.”

Maeve, seven, says: My favourite part was when they didn’t sell the house any more, because it’s happy.” (Spoilers, sorry.)

The world of sport

Media roundup

The horror at Bondi Junction dominates news headlines today. The Daily Telegraph has a police source saying that investigators believe the perpetrator was “definitely targeting women.” The Courier Mail covers the attacker’s domestic violence complaint against his parents over their removal of his knives. The Sydney Morning Herald focuses on the Frenchmen who took on the threat.

What’s happening today

  • Supermarket prices | The Senate select committee on supermarket prices will hold a public session today, at which they will hear from the economist Allan Fels, unions and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

  • School’s back | Term two begins in Victoria, Queensland, the NT and WA.

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Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.

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