Jewish student falsely named as Sydney stabbing attacker settles defamation claim

Prior to Seven’s breakfast show Weekend Sunrise, which broadcasted the morning after the incident, a producer “mistakenly believed that information relating to a 40-year-old named ‘Benjamin Cohen’ had been confirmed as correct information,” which was then shared during the live news broadcast by its on-air presenters, according to Howard’s letter.

“Seven’s staff, including especially its on-air presenters Mr [Matt] Shirvington and Ms [Lucy] McLeod, are devastated that the error was made and that it has affected you.

“Seven wishes to assure you that the error originated at the producer level and that Seven’s presenters were in no way involved in suggesting or scripting the words which were published.

“Both Mr Shirvington and Ms McLeod nevertheless wish to offer their own personal apology to you for the hurt and distress caused. Whilst Seven does not suggest that it is relevant to your reaction, we nevertheless note that the staff members involved are deeply remorseful and traumatised by the mistake,” the letter said.

Online trolls falsely named Cohen as the perpetrator as early as Saturday night, sharing photos of the student on X where his name began trending.

It appears that the fabricated claim originated on a small account sharing almost exclusively anti-Israel content, while other users suggested the attack could be connected to Israel or Gaza. Further social media accounts with larger followings then amplified the untrue claims that Cohen could be connected, with many of the posts on X drawing attention to what users perceived to be the Sydneysider’s Jewish identity. Cohen’s LinkedIn profile was also shared on X by accounts falsely claiming he resembled the attacker.

The defamatory claim was then picked up by Seven News and repeated by another media outlet.

Several hours later, New South Wales police named the culprit, now deceased, as Joel Cauchi, a 40-year-old from Queensland.

Cohen has since issued a statement via his lawyers: “Users who abuse a platform to target individuals or communities should be held accountable for the consequences of their actions and platforms should be more accountable for the content they host.”