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Law & Justice · Asia Pacific

Ben Roberts-Smith launches clothing brand while facing five murder charges

Ben Roberts-Smith has launched the clothing line Epic 1 Two and an Instagram page while on bail facing five war-crimes murder charges. A 150-minute interview with 2GB host Ben Fordham is set to premiere on YouTube at 9am.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 2 of 4 outletsHow it's made

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4 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 2 · R 0 · 2 unrated
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Photo: Nick-D / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • Ben Roberts-Smith is on bail while facing five war-crimes murder charges (per The Sydney Morning Herald, ssbcrack.com, mediaweek.com.au).
  • Roberts-Smith launched a clothing line called Epic 1 Two and an Instagram page as part of a publicity campaign (per The Sydney Morning Herald, ssbcrack.com).
  • Roberts-Smith is not being paid for the interview, and 2GB promotional images show him wearing Epic 1 Two (per The Sydney Morning Herald, ssbcrack.com).
  • The interview is Roberts-Smith’s first major interview since he was charged; he gave several interviews before charges were laid (per The Sydney Morning Herald, ssbcrack.com, mediaweek.com.au).
  • Roberts-Smith previously lost a defamation case in which he contested claims that he had ordered and committed war crimes in Afghanistan (per The Sydney Morning Herald, ssbcrack.com).
  • Roberts-Smith’s personal brand is described as intended to generate income for his family and legal expenses (per ssbcrack.com, The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • news.ssbcrack.com says Roberts-Smith denied the allegations against him (per ssbcrack.com, The Sydney Morning Herald, mediaweek.com.au).

The brief

The Sydney Morning Herald described the launch as part of a coordinated publicity campaign, reporting that the clothing line and social-media page appeared during the week before Fordham’s interview. The interview is Roberts-Smith’s first major one since he was charged; he had given several interviews before charges were laid.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Roberts-Smith will not be paid for the interview. Promotional images released by 2GB show him wearing Epic 1 Two. The Nightly’s headline also describes the interview as a two-hour radio and YouTube broadcast, while the Sydney Morning Herald gives its duration as 150 minutes. The campaign is also presented as a business venture.

News.ssbcrack.com says Roberts-Smith launched a personal brand to generate income for his family and cover legal expenses. That outlet also reports that he has denied the allegations. The Sydney Morning Herald’s account focuses on the campaign and interview, rather than describing the brand’s stated financial purpose.

The charges concern alleged conduct during Roberts-Smith’s deployments in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, according to news.ssbcrack.com. That outlet says the allegations include the murder or instigation of murders of five unarmed detainees. These are allegations, not findings of criminal guilt.

News.ssbcrack.com identifies two charges as relating to alleged killings in Kakarak on April 12, 2009, naming Mohammad Essa and his son Ahmadullah. It says a third charge concerns a September 11, 2012 mission to capture an Afghan soldier accused of an attack that killed three Australian soldiers.

Those details are presented by that outlet; the Sydney Morning Herald reports the total number of charges but does not provide the same case-by-case account. The Sydney Morning Herald also reports that Roberts-Smith previously lost a defamation case in which he disputed claims that he had ordered and committed war crimes in Afghanistan.

That civil case is distinct from the five criminal charges he now faces. Mediaweek’s headline quotes Tapt Media chief executive Tom Malone describing Fordham’s interview as “The best I’ve seen”; the Sydney Morning Herald identifies Tapt Media as the owner of 2GB and 3AW.

Why it matters

  • Roberts-Smith faces five war-crimes murder charges, placing the allegations and his public-facing campaign alongside an unresolved criminal case.
  • News.ssbcrack.com says the brand is intended to generate income for Roberts-Smith’s family and cover legal expenses, linking the venture to stated personal and legal costs.
  • The 150-minute interview is a substantial broadcast on 2GB and YouTube; the Sydney Morning Herald says it is his first major interview since the charges were laid.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald reports promotional images show Roberts-Smith wearing his clothing line, while also saying he is not being paid for the interview.

What to watch next

  • Whether the 150-minute Fordham interview premieres on YouTube at the stated 9am time.
  • What Roberts-Smith says in his first major interview since the charges were laid.
  • Whether Epic 1 Two develops as a source of income for Roberts-Smith’s family and legal expenses, the purpose reported by news.ssbcrack.com.
  • How the five war-crimes murder charges proceed.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
4 source articles · 4 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center · 2 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 75% · Global 25%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 2 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
4 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Asia (3 of 4 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

2 framing differences · 1 uncorroborated claim · 3 information gaps
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 2 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 2 other outlets were checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald frames the clothing line and Instagram page as a publicity campaign; news.ssbcrack.com emphasizes the brand as a business intended to generate money for Roberts-Smith’s family and legal expenses.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald calls the interview 150 minutes; The Nightly headline describes it as two hours, a rounded description rather than a conflicting exact duration.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Mediaweek’s headline quotes Tapt Media chief executive Tom Malone calling Fordham’s interview “The best I’ve seen.”
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources do not report the outcome or current procedural status of the criminal case beyond the charges and bail.
  • The sources do not provide casualty figures for the alleged killings of detainees or independent findings on the specific criminal allegations.
  • News.ssbcrack.com reports that Roberts-Smith denied the allegations; the Sydney Morning Herald excerpt does not state his position on the criminal allegations.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Ben Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross for his service in Afghanistan.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. In 2018, he sued The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times over reports alleging that he had committed or ordered war crimes.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. In April 2023, Australian authorities charged Roberts-Smith with five counts of war-crimes murder over alleged killings in Afghanistan.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. In May 2023, the Federal Court dismissed his defamation case.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

Australia’s Criminal Code Amendment (War Crimes) Act 2002 established offences and domestic jurisdiction for war crimes, including murder, as Australia implemented its obligations under the Rome Statute. That legal framework allows alleged conduct by Australian personnel overseas to be prosecuted in Australian courts; it does not determine whether any individual is guilty.

Ben Roberts-Smith served with Australian forces in Afghanistan, where the allegations later litigated concerned events from 2009 to 2012. In 2018, he sued The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times over reports alleging that he had committed or ordered war crimes. In May 2023, the Federal Court dismissed his defamation case.

Original sources

1 of 4 articles · Global · Show all

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