# Claim 476

The journalists' union said the case showed how national-security laws could be misused against public-interest journalism.

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

- Statement: The journalists' union said the case showed how national-security laws could be misused against public-interest journalism.
- Field: effect_on_reporting
- Value: Press union says security laws were misused
- About: [incident 2020-australia-high-court-invalidates-smethurst-warrant](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-australia-high-court-invalidates-smethurst-warrant)
- Source: AFP won't charge journalist Annika Smethurst after probe of leaked documents. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/afp-wont-charge-journalist-annika-smethurst-after-probe-of-leaked-documents/dkd1qxw89
- Publisher: SBS News
- Method: outlet report
- Checked: 2026-09-22
- Confidence: medium
- Status: current
- Source date: 2020-05-27

## Quotation from the source

> It shows how Australia's national security laws are being misused in order to criminalise legitimate public interest journalism.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/476. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.