SBS Insight program “Invisible Illness”
Emerge Australia would like to express its concern, deep frustration and disappointment about the harmful narrative presented on Insight’s program that aired on SBS on Tuesday evening (20/5/2025) about Invisible Illnesses.
Based on Insight’s positive reputation as well-researched, serious journalism, we promoted the episode to our community. We were pleased the program chose to feature the often-overlooked challenges of living with invisible illnesses such as ME/CFS, long COVID, fibromyalgia and similar conditions. Emerge Australia thanks those people living with or caring for someone living with an invisible illness who appeared on the program for their courage in raising awareness of the realities of these conditions.
We were, however, extremely disappointed by the unbalanced narrative portrayed in the episode. Ironically, the episode accurately reflected the gaslighting experienced by many living with invisible illnesses.
While many participants bravely shared their stories, the producers chose to give disproportionate airtime to one person who claimed to have recovered from ME/CFS and rheumatoid arthritis. Scientific evidence states that there is no recovery from rheumatoid arthritis and less than 10% of people with ME/CFS return to pre-illness functioning. Of further concern, this person claimed their recovery was due to attitude alone, implying that recovery is a choice or can be achieved through effort alone. There are no proven treatments for ME/CFS and there is no cure. The small number who recover are the lucky few.
The media plays a powerful role influencing society’s perceptions. We will be writing to the producers of Insight about the gaslighting their narrative perpetuated and the harm this episode has caused to our community, undermining decades of scientific research, education and advocacy.
We will be referencing section 3 of the SBS Code of Practice 2021 (amended April 2022), ‘Trust’. We believe the program failed to meet its terms in section 3.3 ‘Diversity of Views and Perspectives’, and did not “give due weight to the available evidence relating to particular subject matter.” The program focused significantly less on perspectives that were reflective of the scientific evidence, instead choosing the story of one person, purportedly representing the experience of less than 10% of people with ME/CFS.
Dr Mark Donohoe, another program participant and experienced GP, well-known to our community, called out the gaslighting people with invisible illnesses experience from the medical profession: “When medicine feels powerless, … we’re more inclined to gaslight people and say ‘oh, maybe it’s in your head’… and that gaslighting is harmful.”
It is just as important that gaslighting by the media is also called out. It must stop. By perpetuating a view not backed by science, the program was complicit in causing further harm to a community that experiences gaslighting every day.
If the program raised concerns for you, please contact
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- 13 YARN 13 92 76
- Beyond Blue 1300 224 636
