Seven News Spotlight

I daresay he’s just freelancing for Spotlight, he hasn’t joined 7 as such.

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Who’s the reporter on The Governess story?

Sarah Greenhalgh

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Looks like Sarah Greenhalgh

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7NEWS Spotlight: Sextortion

Bombshell investigation reveals the dark underbelly of social media sextortion

Rohan Cosgriff, 17, had everything to live for, but within hours of the Victorian teenager sharing an explicit photo on social media with a Nigerian scammer posing as a young, attractive girl, Rohan was blackmailed and pressured into taking his own life.

In a major 7NEWS Spotlight investigation this Sunday at 8.30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus, award-winning investigative journalist Sarah Greenhalgh reveals the dark underbelly of social media sextortion.

The Australian Federal Police estimate that as many as 3,000 cases of sextortion occur in our country every month, with teenage boys left ashamed and scared. What starts as a simple “hello” in a direct online message quickly escalates into a terrifying ordeal involving private photos and ruthless extortion. Like Rohan, some of these cases have tragic consequences.

Determined to expose the criminals behind sextortion, Sarah travels 15,000km to Lagos, Nigeria, coming face-to-face with a sextortionist who explains in chilling detail how and he and his colleagues target their victims.

Sarah said: “The importance of this story can’t be overstated. Sextortion is one of the fastest growing crimes against children in our country, with families across Australia and the world left devastated by its impact.”

In a heart-wrenching interview, Rohan’s parents share their son’s story publicly for the first time. Recounting the tragic circumstances that led to his death, the Cosgriffs hope to prevent other Australian families experiencing the same tragedy.

“All the parents we interviewed who have lost their sons had open, honest conversations with them about the dangers of social media, but it wasn’t enough,” Sarah said.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Beck and Anthony Cosgriff for bravely sharing Rohan’s story. We have no doubt they will help save lives.”

7NEWS Spotlight also focuses on Meta and other tech giants, demanding they step up and take responsibility to protect children from these heinous crimes. Sarah goes to the US searching for answers from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over Instagram’s involvement in these scams. And what she exposes is a chilling truth: no child is safe.

7NEWS Spotlight: Sextortion 8.30pm this Sunday on Channel 7 and 7plus

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This is another top story tonight, Sarah is impressive, such a devastating case and so relevant to our society and families today. I knew Meta were pretty dodgy, but wow their PR and more importantly top executives and lawyers need a reality check.

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Agree. Sarah Greenhalgh is a great addition to the program. Great story.

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Also to remember that she has just come from filing reports of just a few minutes long to this.

Seven would do well to keep her contract very tight.

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This Sunday - the program length has been increased to 1:15 h

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Comment online from a producer and a friend of our realm the other day:

https://twitter.com/rob_mcknight/status/1785075371257577849?t=agRBFBvDCKVdHBe6Vxtk3g&s=19

LOL what’s with those outdated rival logos in that first cap? :joy:

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Those fake news stories have been floating around for years, can’t expect people creating and trying to pedal those scams online to be up to date with or care about the latest logos right :crazy_face:

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7NEWS Spotlight: Social Scammers

Unmasking Australia’s billion-dollar scam epidemic

It’s the skyrocketing crime costing innocent Australians more than $3 billion.

In an explosive expose airing this Sunday at 8.45pm on Channel 7 and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight lifts the lid on the multi-billion-dollar scam industry using fake advertisements featuring well-known celebrities to con more than 600,000 Aussies. The scams promise financial freedom but instead leave devastation and ruin in their wake.

Acclaimed 7NEWS Spotlight reporter Liam Bartlett gains unprecedented access to the Philippines headquarters of these cyber criminals. With the help of an insider, he turns the tables on the scammers, revealing the inner workings of a criminal enterprise that has devastated countless lives.

Away from the bustling city of Cebu, 7NEWS Spotlight reporter Sarah Greenhalgh travels to Adelaide and the Gold Coast to hear the stories of everyday Aussies who have fallen victim to these schemes. She meets Allison who was scammed out of almost $250,000 after being lured by fake advertisements featuring famous faces, while Johanna shares her experience of being drawn in by promises of rich returns.

“These innocent, hardworking women lost everything,” Sarah said. “The scammers successfully preyed on their unique vulnerabilities and the victims’ lives have changed forever as a result.”

Liam adds: “Everyone from the ACCC to the richest man in Australia has been trying to shut these crooks down without success, so we’ve gone to the source of the problem, the place where these scammers live and work to try to disable their wicked game.”

Watch as 7NEWS Spotlight brings you the moment an Australian victim meets her scammer, leading to an unforgettable confrontation.

Plus, don’t miss 7NEWS Spotlight’s exclusive interview with former Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he opens up about balancing his faith at the highest level of politics and dealing with debilitating anxiety while in the top job.

7NEWS Spotlight: Social Scammers 8.45pm this Sunday on Channel 7 and 7plus

[amended]

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Surprised this hasn’t been mentioned yet.

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Was this at the top of the show? Because AFAIK it wasn’t in the promos, perhaps strategically, it was all about the (for a third week running good story) the scamming crisis. Could backfire if so, would’ve been better to sneakily place it at the end maybe.

There was a teaser/preview on WS this morning during Mark Riley’s long-running segment (previously ‘The Riley Diary’ going back to at least 15 years ago with AOK and Sam maybe longer).

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The interview aired in the last segment of the program.

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The Bruce Lehrmann saga just won’t go away. Now the landlord of the apartment that Seven funded is suing him.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/landlord-of-luxury-2000-rental-launches-legal-action-against-bruce-lehrmann/news-story/290437c24efe68931be17793fa59bfb9

But it’s not clear what the complaint relates to although there is some suggestion that he may have terminated the lease early as a result of a procession of paparazzi photographers that turned up to document the comings and goings at the property, including a mysterious blonde spotted vaping on the balcony.

Then, there was the dinner party where it was reported that another man, not Mr Lehrmann, was snorting white powder in a video uploaded to Instagram.

Another astonishing photo then emerged inside the house where Mr Lehrmann appears to snort a white substance off his dinner table.

Beating Screen Addiction

Sunday 12 May 8:40pm

Screen addiction is shrinking young brains, but how can parents beat this growing problem? We look at the different methods that are getting results and can be used at home right now.

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7NEWS Spotlight: Beating screen addiction

The digital dilemma plaguing Australia’s youth, 8.40pm this Sunday

More than half a million Aussie kids are addicted to their screens. The lure of social media, gaming, and endless online content is out of control, threatening to harm an entire generation unless there is intervention to help young people reclaim control over their digital lives.

In a must-see program for all parents airing this Sunday at 8.40pm on Channel 7 and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight investigates the growing epidemic of screen addiction among young people, featuring startling scientific evidence of how technology is shrinking young minds and fuelling violence.

7NEWS Spotlight goes inside households across Australia to show the scale of this growing crisis, meeting desperate parents in the grips of dealing with their children’s tech addictions and associated emotional and aggressive behaviour. Renowned experts and leading authorities on gaming disorders, Professor Wayne Warburton and psychologist Brad Marshall, offer invaluable insights into the severity of the problem.

But there is hope, as 7NEWS Spotlight outlines the techniques parents can adopt right now to beat their children’s growing addition to tech. Cameras follow a group of four despairing families as they embark on two experimental detox methods currently available in Australia in the hope they can bring their children back into the “real world”.

7NEWS Spotlight host and award-winning correspondent Michael Usher described the investigation as an “eye opener”.

“It’s a problem we’ve all spoken about in families but have no easy answers,” he said. “The kids and families we follow need help. They’re being lost in cyberspace. But why isn’t this addiction being given urgent attention by the government and the gaming companies earning billions of dollars?

“We ask them why they’re letting our kids get hooked, without help.”