Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 24 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Other
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
In short:
Mental health organisation SANE Australia has urged Bunnings to remove a Halloween costume it says is offensive to people with mental illness.
asserted
it → urge → illness
The costume features a straitjacket with the words "approach with caution" on the back.
asserted
costume → feature → back
A Bunnings spokesperson says the company understands the concerns raised and has removed the item from its online marketplace.
asserted
company → say → marketplace
Bunnings has removed a straitjacket costume from its online marketplace as mental health advocates urge retailers to stop selling Halloween outfits that portray people with mental illness as "insane".
asserted
that → remove → illness
The costume, listed on Bunnings Marketplace, was a straitjacket with arm ties and the words "Property of the county mental institution — approach with caution!" printed on the back.
asserted
costume → list → back
SANE Australia, a non-profit organisation for people with complex mental health issues, said it was unacceptable for corporations to publicly support mental health causes while profiting from products that reinforce stigma.
asserted
that → say → stigma
"The time has well and truly come for us to stop turning a blind eye to these kinds of tropes in the community," CEO Rachel Green told ABC Victoria Statewide Drive.
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Green → come → community
"You wouldn't see people buying and wearing a cancer patient costume, for example.
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people → see → example
So why is a costume dressing up as someone with a mental illness considered acceptable?"
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costume → dress → illness
Sandy Jeffs, a SANE ambassador and author who lives with schizophrenia and was a patient at Melbourne's former Larundel Psychiatric Hospital, said costumes were insulting and "downright mad-shaming".
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costumes → live → Hospital
"Halloween, it's fun for people, but I suppose it's when it goes to negative tropes like introducing straitjackets as a costume — It goes into a dark place," she said.
"
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she → suppose → place
They're there to laugh at, to make fun of, to really demonise a whole cohort of people who don't deserve to be demonised or to be laughed at and shamed.
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who → laugh → people
"We're just ordinary people with a very extraordinary illness … dealing with the stigma that surrounds these conditions every day."
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that → deal → conditions
When contacted by the ABC, a spokesperson for Bunnings said the item had since been removed from sale.
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item → contact → sale
"We understand the concerns raised, and once the listing was brought to our attention, it was removed from Bunnings Marketplace," a spokesperson said.
asserted
spokesperson → understand → Marketplace
The same costume is available for sale at Kmart, which, like Bunnings, is owned by Wesfarmers, as well as at Dick Smith, Amazon and a number of smaller costume stores.
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which → own → stores
The ABC has contacted Wesfarmers for comment.
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ABC → contact → comment
It's not the first time SANE has called out retailers for selling costumes it considers stigmatising.
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it → call → costumes
SANE said a social media campaign in 2024 prompted Big W to remove Halloween costumes from sale.
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campaign → say → sale
Ms Green said Spotlight was among the retailers that quickly pulled the costume at the time, but had since made it available for sale again.
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it → say → sale
She said the costumes mattered for families dealing with serious mental illness.
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costumes → say → illness
"It does matter for the family who've got a 25-year-old who's got early signs of psychosis and is really struggling and needs to have that support wrapped around them," Ms Green said.
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Green → matter → them
"How are they going to feel with people walking around on Saturday dressed in a costume that's a caricature of a bygone era."
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that → go → era
The ABC has contacted Spotlight for comment.
asserted
ABC → contact → comment
The Aporia