Now here’s an interesting story. At the end of last week, the Australian government was finding itself being criticised for wanting to extend the country’s already strict censorship laws and books and films deemed to “glorify terrorism”.

And then, over the weekend, stories started popping up all over the place expressing outrage that a film that purportedly “preached jihad” had been given a PG rating by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC), which means that it is not recommended for viewing by persons under 15 without guidance from parents or guardians.

The various reports all quote the same person - Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock - who was quite keen on extending his powers before this furore broke. And the reports are all very similar - so similar, in fact, that I can’t help but wonder how many of these news organisations are simply parroting the same press release without bothering to do even the most basic research.

Maybe I’m being unfair, but it does strike me as odd that, while Philip Ruddock - who hasn’t seen the film - is being quoted all over the place, the opinions of OFLC Director Des Clark are being distinctly under reported. In fact, the only people who appear to have spoken to Mr Clarke are Sky News. Inconveniently for Mr Ruddock, Des Clark told Sky News he has seen the film and it contains absolutely no incitement, which would explain the rating.

This all looks very much like a moral panic in the making - and one that is very conveniently timed given that the Australian government is - yet again - seeking to tighten their already censorship rules.

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