The editor of Launceston’s The Examiner newspaper has been sacked. The dismissal of editor Mark Westfield follows his admission that he did not check to see if a letter to the editor he chose to publish was in fact true.

The letter claimed that a transgender woman had entered a change room at the Launceston Aquatic Centre and began changing in front of small children. After the city’s council said there was no evidence the claim had ever occurred, and said it was disappointing the newspaper hadn’t taken the time to check to see if it was true, Westfield admitted he may have been misled.

The newspaper removed the letter from its website, and printed a statement the following day saying it may not have been true. By the time the newspaper removed the claim though it had already been shared across social media around the globe.

The incident was highlighted on the ABC’s program Media Watch earlier this week.

Australian Community Media, the owners of the masthead, are understood to have terminated Westfield’s employment the following day. He has declined to comment to the media.

Westfield joined the paper in January this year, returning to the publication where he began his career decades ago. Last year he worked for Liberal candidate Katheirne Deves whose campaign was dominated by her negative comments about people who are transgender.

OIP Staff

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