True News Weekly is an Australian subscriber news website[citation needed] originally launched as True Crime News Weekly and published by PR 4 THE PPL PTY LTD.[citation needed][1] It aims to cover breaking news, crime and corruption, politics, media, opinion, culture reviews, and historical true crime. It has been cited in Australia for its exclusives and investigations into political scandals, and has been noted for first breaking the notorious 'Barnaby Joyce Scandal' that resulted in Australian Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce being forced to resign as National Party of Australia leader in early 2018.[1][2][3]
True News Weekly was launched originally as True Crime News Weekly in January 2017 by investigative journalist Serkan Ozturk, who remains its publisher. Gary Johnston is the publication's deputy editor. Originally launched as a free blog, the website became a subscriber news site in October 2018.[citation needed] As noted on the website,[citation needed] the site claims to be "inspired by the pulp fiction and noir of yesteryear" and regards itself to be progressive. In February 2024, the website relaunched as True News Weekly.[1]
The Daily Telegraph was awarded a Walkley Award in 2018 for Scoop of the Year for their coverage of the 'Barnaby Joyce Scandal', however True News Weekly had first published stories about the scandal in October 2017, almost six months before the Daily Telegraph's articles.[1][2][3] In April 2019, True News Weekly claims to have been the first publication to reveal that controversial Nationals MP George Christensen had been visiting sex bars in seedy parts of the Philippines, almost eight months before the rest of the Australian media.[4]
There has been a challenge to Ozturk's claims about True News Weekly breaking the 'Barnaby Joyce Scandal' along with a general challenge to the rigour of his journalism,[7] however Ozturk claimed his original coverage in October 2017 had details ignored by critics including The Guardian's Amanda Meade in her article. Ozturk and True News Weekly have also received both support and criticism across wider media for their style of journalism.[8]
↑James Massola (2026-10-16). "How to kill a story: The secret dossier the Greens used to protect Steele-John". The Age, Sydney Morning Herald. §The resignation. Retrieved 2026-10-16. Five days later on August 3, the independent website True Crime News Weekly published a story about allegations made against Steele-John by two volunteers, whose names this masthead has chosen not to publish. The story alleged that Steele-John, who was not yet a senator, had been accused of making inappropriate comments by "at least two young female members of the Greens in Western Australia".
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