The narrative on Melbourne's violent protests got 'truly bizarre'Some media linked the violence seen during the protests to far-right groups, while CFMEU's Dave Noonan said anti-vax groups and "extreme right neo-Nazis" carried the blame.
On Wednesday during the ABC's Afternoon Briefing program, academic Greg Barton speculated the "political context" in Melbourne was different during the protests.
"We've got a Labor government that's being hammered by some elements of the Murdoch press to be frank, and that's created a permissive environment for people going on about dictator Dan," Mr Barton told the ABC's Patricia Karvelas.
©
According to Mr Houghton, Karvelas did not challenge Barton on his views.
"The ABC blames the Murdoch media for the construction worker protests," Mr Houghton said.
"She (Karvelas) allowed the conspiracy theory to be aired across the nation."