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Ben Roberts-Smith interview LIVE updates: Alleged war criminal, Victoria Cross recipient speaks with 2GB’s Ben Fordham in pre-recorded interview

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Cite

Surdo, D. L., & Bachelard, M. (2026, October 21). Ben Roberts-Smith interview LIVE updates: Alleged war criminal, Victoria Cross recipient speaks with 2GB’s Ben Fordham in pre-recorded interview. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/ben-roberts-smith-interview-live-updates-alleged-war-criminal-victoria-cross-recipient-speaks-with-2gb-s-ben-fordham-in-pre-recorded-interview-20261022-p617is.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-21 · by Daniel Lo Surdo, Michael Bachelard

Quick Summary

Tom Malone, CEO of Tapt Media which owns 2GB and 3AW, announced that Ben Roberts-Smith will be interviewed by Ben Fordham for a pre-recorded interview. This interview is part of Tapt Media's new strategy to attract audiences on digital platforms as the company transitions under its new ownership by the Laundys family. Selected excerpts will air on 2GB before the full interview premieres on YouTube at 9am.
Written by AI on 2026-10-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Ben Roberts-Smith, a former Australian SAS commando facing five war crimes charges for alleged murders in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, was interviewed by Ben Fordham on radio station 2GB. The two-and-a-half-hour interview aired on October 21, also premiering on YouTube the same day as part of a new strategy to reach audiences via digital platforms. During the interview, Roberts-Smith denied shooting prisoners or witnessing fellow soldiers do so and stated he would not change anything about his military career despite facing serious allegations. The Victoria Cross recipient, who recently launched an apparel brand called EPIC 1 TWO, also faced tough questions from Fordham regarding alleged incidents where weapons were placed on dead bodies to misrepresent the circumstances of their deaths. This interview comes ahead of Roberts-Smith’s upcoming criminal trial and follows a defamation case in which a judge found that he murdered one civilian and three combatants who were not posing any threat at the time, findings contested by Roberts-Smith during his radio appearance.

Written for “Ben Roberts-Smith Interviewed Live Updates” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Ben Roberts-Smith Interviewed Live Updates
Politics · 7 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Ben Roberts-Smith has a lot to say. Now it's time for him to say it: How Australia's most decorated soldier and accused war criminal is set to spill in 'gobsmacking' two hour interview - as he launches EPIC 1 TWO brand Same event
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 36 claims Outlet record 68/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
4
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 4 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5572 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Daniel Lo Surdo
31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Officials have warned the death toll could rise, as rescue workers scour the crash site.
2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Australia news LIVE: At least 68 killed in Spanish train crash; Labor under renewed pressure after inflation rise
🔮 He will remain behind bars until at least November 4, when he will next appear in court.
2026-10-22 · mixed framing · Boy, 14, allegedly raped in north shore park in random attack
🔮 Ben Roberts-Smith launched a multimedia blitz on Thursday to go with his new clothing label, denying five charges of the war crime of murder ahead of his criminal trial and insisting he would not change a thing from his military career.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · ‘I just give it to them straight in the chest’: Roberts-Smith has no regrets about his military career
🔮 Tom Malone, chief executive of Tapt Media, which owns 2GB and 3AW, said the interview will showcase the company’s digital transformation in its new era owned by pokies and publican billionaire family, the Laundys.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Ben Roberts-Smith interview LIVE updates: Alleged war criminal, Victoria Cross recipient speaks with 2GB’s Ben Fordham in pre-recorded interview
🔮 The manhunt began after 10.20am on Friday when the man was allegedly confronted over a stolen van taken from a nearby inner west suburb days earlier. He allegedly set fire to the van, near an apartment complex at Williams Parade and Constitution Road in Dulwich Hill, and waved the shotgun at three witnesses, before fleeing on foot with the weapon. Nearby businesses, cafes and schools were put into lockdown on Friday as tactical police, along with the police helicopter, combed nearby streets for the alleged gunman.
2026-10-18 · mixed framing · Arrest in hunt for man who roamed Dulwich Hill with sawn-off shotgun
🔮 Officers have established the operation near Williams Parade and Constitution Road, urging public to avoid the area as they sweep the scene.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Gun shots in Dulwich Hill, police lock down area
🔮 A post-mortem examination will be held to determine the child’s cause of death.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Boy, 5, found dead in NSW home was duct-taped into sleeping bag, blindfolded, police say
🔮 The investigation of the botched assassination attempt was handed to detectives under Taskforce Falcon, the NSW Police initiative launched in May 2025 to confront escalating gangland violence across Sydney.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Teenager charged over attempted assassination at Sydney school pick-up
🔮 “I could just smell petrol all over, my hairs singed, my eyebrows, got smoke in my eyes, just everything, just been pumping me with water.
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🔮 Police announced the establishment of Strike Force Mexvo on Wednesday morning, which will bring together specialist detectives with officers from the Sex Crimes Squad to investigate whether the incidents are linked.
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Also by Daniel Lo Surdo
Australia news LIVE: At least 68 killed in Spanish train crash; Labor under renewed pressure after inflation rise
2026-10-28 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Boy, 14, allegedly raped in north shore park in random attack
2026-10-22 · The Sydney Morning Herald
‘I just give it to them straight in the chest’: Roberts-Smith has no regrets about his military career
2026-10-22 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Arrest in hunt for man who roamed Dulwich Hill with sawn-off shotgun
2026-10-18 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 31 articles by Daniel Lo Surdo →
Michael Bachelard
11 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Ben Roberts-Smith launched a multimedia blitz on Thursday to go with his new clothing label, denying five charges of the war crime of murder ahead of his criminal trial and insisting he would not change a thing from his military career.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · ‘I just give it to them straight in the chest’: Roberts-Smith has no regrets about his military career
🔮 On the practice of using “throw downs” to frame victims as combatants. “We were told to put weapons on the bodies for the photographs because they wanted it all in one photo, so we could send it back.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Ben Roberts-Smith’s 2GB interview fact-checked
🔮 Tom Malone, chief executive of Tapt Media, which owns 2GB and 3AW, said the interview will showcase the company’s digital transformation in its new era owned by pokies and publican billionaire family, the Laundys.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Ben Roberts-Smith interview LIVE updates: Alleged war criminal, Victoria Cross recipient speaks with 2GB’s Ben Fordham in pre-recorded interview
🔮 “It had all the credibility of a Melbourne weather forecast,” said Ryan, after the hearing.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · ‘Just business’: Brethren leaders admit meeting far-right – and Trump
🔮 “The Brethren may be the first to face this, but I do not believe they will be the last,” wrote Pastor Lucas Miles, who leads Turning Point USA Faith, in a recent post on social media platform X.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · American right-wing body Turning Point USA backs Exclusive Brethren before hearing
🔮 A young Australian taken as a boy to live with the Islamic State was on the brink of travelling home when American soldiers snatched him from a Syrian prison and transported him to Iraq, where he could face trial on terror charges.
2026-10-05 · mixed framing · Young Australian caught up in IS could soon come home on passport
🔮 The family of a young Australian taken as a 12-year-old boy to live under Islamic State in 2015 believes he could be released in coming weeks after indications emerging from Iraq that he would not face trial as a criminal.
2026-10-02 · mixed framing · ‘Still like a child’: Family believes Australian taken to Syria as a boy could be released soon
🔮 “What will eventually bring in finality to the whole Jewish question, that remains in the hands of Christ and perfectly under the control of God.”
2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Exclusive Brethren leader calls Jews ‘wicked’, ‘infidel’ as Liberals remain silent
🔮 How thick could you get?
2026-09-21 · assertive framing · ‘More power to redheads’: Brethren leader backs Hanson, building nuclear bombs
🔮 Angela Bell plans to fly out this week with human rights lawyer Bernadette Zaydan to Idlib province in Syria as her son, Patrick Stevenson – a 20-year-old convert to Islam – waits in a local prison facing charges that, if proven, could result in the death penalty.
2026-09-15 · assertive framing · ‘Of course I’m frightened’: Australian mother flies to son accused of murder in Syria
Also by Michael Bachelard
‘I just give it to them straight in the chest’: Roberts-Smith has no regrets about his military career
2026-10-22 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Ben Roberts-Smith’s 2GB interview fact-checked
2026-10-22 · The Sydney Morning Herald
‘Just business’: Brethren leaders admit meeting far-right – and Trump
2026-10-16 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Exclusive Brethren hearing LIVE updates: Church leader Bruce Hales to appear over allegations church campaigned in 2025 election, paid neo-Nazi associates to harass PM
2026-10-15 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 11 articles by Michael Bachelard →

Topics

3AW Laundys Nine Tapt Media YouTube

Subjects

Laundys PERSON · 2× 3AW ORG · 1× Nine ORG · 1× Tapt Media ORG · 1× Tom Malone PERSON · 1× YouTube ORG · 1×

Narrative

Tom Malone, chief executive of Tapt Media, which owns 2GB and 3AW, said the interview will showcase the company’s digital transformation in its new era owned by pokies and publican billionaire family, the Laundys.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-21
🔮 Tom Malone, chief executive of Tapt Media, which owns 2GB and 3AW, said the interview will showcase the company’s digital transformation in its new era owned by pokies and publican billionaire family, the Laundys.
2026-10-21 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Ben Roberts-Smith interview LIVE updates: Alleged war criminal, Victoria Cross recipient speaks with 2GB’s Ben Fordham in pre-recorded interview · assertive framing

Claims (4 extracted, 0 hedged)

Tom Malone, chief executive of Tapt Media, which owns 2GB and 3AW, said the interview will showcase the company’s digital transformation in its new era owned by pokies and publican billionaire family, the Laundys. asserted
interview → own → pokies
The network is using the long-form interview format as part of a new strategy to find audiences on digital platforms outside traditional radio. asserted
network → use → radio
While selected excerpts of the interview will first air on 2GB, it will premiere in full on YouTube at 9am. asserted
it → select → 9
The radio stations were formerly owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead, until the Laundys’ purchase at the start of the year. asserted
stations → own → year
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