PROMINENT writer and radio broadcaster Marieke Hardy has issued an apology to a Melbourne man she incorrectly accused of authoring a hate blog against her.
In early November Ms Hardy, a regular panelist on the ABC’s First Tuesday Book Club, drew media attention for naming Joshua Meggitt as the alleged author behind a long running campaign of online harassment against her.
Pointing the finger at Mr Meggitt even sparked a Twitter campaign under the hashtag #mencallmethings, in which many female tweeters and bloggers reposted some of the worst online comments that had been made about themselves.
In the December 23 post on her blog, Ms Hardy issued a formal apology, saying: “For over five years I have been the victim of a hate blog against me. On 9 November 2011 I incorrectly identified Joshua Meggitt on this site as the man responsible for writing that blog.
“I accept that Joshua is not the writer and I sincerely apologise to him and his family for any upset caused.”
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Hardy is believed to have paid Mr Meggitt a legal settlement of $13,000.
