This is the statement released yesterday by BuzzFeed following a settlement reached in the Husar v BuzzFeed/Alice Workman defamation case:
On 2 August 2018 BuzzFeed published an article by Alice Workman about Emma Husar, then the federal member for Lindsay. The article reported the content of a confidential letter to Ms Husar, prepared as part of an assessment that was commissioned by NSW Labor into allegations made by former employees in Ms Husar’s electorate office, which was leaked to BuzzFeed.
BuzzFeed and Alice Workman acknowledge that they should have given Ms Husar an opportunity to respond to the article before it was published, and apologise for the hurt and distress caused to Ms Husar and her family.
BuzzFeed considers reporting on the staff complaints was a matter of public interest.
Following a mediation, the matter was resolved and BuzzFeed has agreed to take down the article, without an admission of liability.