Nasty Alert – “Watch yourself, we know the same people”

COMMENT: This image of Fremantle local Claudia Green was copied from the StreetWise website on May 27 and published without permission on the Fremantle Community Forum Facebook page launched in 2020 by Mia Kriznic and Mark Woodcock.
The copyrighted content was linked to a January 6 StreetWise article, ‘Society throws out potential Freo candidate’, and reposted with the caption: “All the individuals worrying about their own personal agendas and not the best outcome for freo, F&()(^ sad.”
Frigging sad alright.
The caption whose cowardly author prefers to remain anonymous stayed online for 16 hours before StreetWise asked FCF administrators to remove it and apologise to Ms Green, who is not a member of the FCF page. Without explanation to its 249 followers, the post was removed and the page shut down the same day (Friday last), but no apology tendered. No questions asked.
Acting on legal advice, Ms Green contacted the admins and asked that they apologise publicly for having been vilified publicly without her knowledge or right of reply. By the weekend, administrators Peter Zuvela and Fedele J. Carmada had abandoned ship and distanced themselves from the now-defunct FCF page (StreetWise has screenshots of the page before it disappeared).
According to Ms Kriznic, Mr Woodcock is the sole administrator of the page, which she said she reported to Facebook after a falling out over ‘values’. The current FCF page is administered by Ms Kriznic and the aforementioned admins of the old page including Shane Braddock and moderator Craig Stevenson (opposite).
On Sunday, Ms Kriznic contacted Ms Green and blamed Mr Woodcock for having posted the derogatory caption: “The FCF page is now solely administered by Mark Woodcock who has removed myself and the other FCF moderators and is operating in isolation.”
Republishing the offensive post to more than 3000 readers on her own FCF page, Ms Kriznic said, contradicting herself several times: “I removed Mark from the FCF as an administrator as I do not believe he holds the same values that I hold in regards to behaving ethically and responsibly.
“Case in point he is now using the page to target Claudia Green, a long standing community member to make it look like FCF and our moderators are attacking her.” Describing herself as the victim in this nasty charade, she adds FCF (the group) has no control over Mr Woodcock’s FCF (the page).
Group or page, the offensive post designed deliberately to offend Ms Green appeared under the Fremantle Community Forum ‘entity’.
Strangely, Ms Kriznic’s accusatory post pointing the finger at Mr Woodcock was removed from her group a few hours later, without explanation. This is the screenshot.
If Ms Kriznic is correct, the Fremantle Society’s “very well informed and active committee member” and potential City Ward candidate in the next election Mr Woodcock must apologise publicly for vilifying Ms Green, who also is a fellow Society member and potential City Ward candidate.
And though her anti-Woodcock post was removed after a few hours, Ms Kriznic must also apologise to Ms Green for having shared the offensive post with thousands of readers who would never have seen it had she not reposted it – regardless of whether FCF is a group or page.
Mr Woodcock was more forthright when he told StreetWise he did not pinch the post from StreetWise nor posted the caption: “I didn’t put it up and I can’t honestly say if Mia did,” he said, having removed her as an admin. “It’s a page, not a group so I don’t understand how someone posted it anyway because normally a page doesn’t work that way. Someone has got in and posted it.” Mr Woodcock could not say whether other admins had posted it.
Mr Woodcock, who has been blocked from Facebook since commenting on the Fremantle Network page two weeks ago, confirmed he removed the post and shut down the page after StreetWise contacted the ‘administrators’.
“I can’t post,” he said, though he still had access to the FCF page before he closed it. “I’m completing locked down on Facebook. I closed the page because I didn’t know what was going on and needed to delve into it.”
Mr Woodcock told StreetWise he also closed the FCF page after Ms Green contacted him: “I could tell from Ms Green’s email that she was upset so I went to the page and took down the post and three other posts I found and didn’t know about.” One of these included another StreetWise article on the Pindan collapse (www.streetwisemedia.com.au/payments-accelerate-weeks-before-pindan-collapse).
Mr Woodcock said he and Mia opened the FCF page last year, but parted company because, “both of us had different styles and points of view”. Shortly after Mr Woodcock was kicked off FCF (the group), he was invited back as a moderator because he claims membership had slowed and people had started to complain about the infighting.
“Mia has it in her mind that I am running for City Ward and she is running around saying I’m in a conspiracy with Claudia to work against Mia, so it just gets crazier and crazier.”
FSW: “So are you running for City Ward?”
The White Gum Valley chef and hospitality consultant did not rule it out: “I never had any interest in running for council. I ran in 2013 and my pretext back then was that these people should not get elected unopposed, they should at least be made to work for it. I still have the same opinion, I still have people asking to me to run in various places. I don’t really have the time. I don’t like politics. But if it came down to it and there was no-one else, yes I would stand up again.”

Calling out the fakers

Content providers such as StreetWise take great offence to having their intellectual property and hard work ‘weaponised’ by such social media platforms, particularly when it is used to attack others.
So this fiercely independent publication, in an effort to highlight the pitfalls of publishing unsubstantiated drivel anywhere, calls out the faceless ‘trolls’ and online haters purporting to have Freo’s best interests at heart.
As reported in previous issues of Freo StreetWise (www.streetwisemedia.com.au/opinion-bloggers-vs-journalism-part-1), private as well as council-funded sites including FCF, South Fremantle Precinct and Freo Massive stand out. No space will be wasted here on the local blogger who also revels in attacking people and publications, including StreetWise, that don’t fit his one-eyed views (www.streetwisemedia.com.au/potty-posts-and-social-kettles-part-2).
Such blog sites and ‘community’ forums which attack the man (and woman) and not the ball for their own personal and political agendas must be condemned and their motives questioned, particularly in the lead up to local government elections in October.
When Ms Kriznic heard this publication was compiling a news article last year on potential 2021 candidates, she contacted StreetWise: “I have been advised that you intend to write a story on me next week and are seeking feedback from others. Please be aware if you do print anything that’s defamatory or untrue I will pursue legal action. Could you please provide your contact details and information should I need to forward legal correspondence your way.” How the wheels have turned.
StreetWise replied at the time: “Advise your adviser you are not the story. Kind regards.” Ms Kriznic then ‘thanked’ StreetWise for posting her partner’s personal information (untrue).
“Creepy much! I’m not sure if you follow two gay women around but we are advising police of our concerns,” she wrote on FCF, followed at the time by 1700 people.
StreetWise is more than happy to give Ms Kriznic a lesson in defamation law, copyright, even good manners. But that ship sailed at the full council meeting in North Fremantle on May 26 when the self-appointed ‘champion’ of local businesses and potential City Ward candidate turned on StreetWise in front of council staff and shocked members of the public.
“So why did you feel the need to publish that I was gay?” Her voiced echoed loudly across the chamber.
FSW: “I have never published that you’re gay.”
Mia: “You did when you referred to my ‘female partner’.”
FSW: “I remember every word I have published Mia and I never referred to anyone but you and this is not the appropriate place or time. If you want to catch up over a coffee …”
Undeterred, and after repeated requests for her to stop, Ms Kriznic continued spewing accusations until her abuse ended with a threat, finger pointed: “You watch yourself, we know the same people.” (Readers, that would be unlikely since the people StreetWise, and you, know do not subscribe to such behaviour publicly and at the detriment of others).
Promoting herself as a “classy, sassy and passionate” Freo ‘local’, Ms Kriznic until recently was secretary of the Fremantle Society and lived in Melville. Business sponsors and supporters of StreetWise have expressed serious concerns over Ms Kriznic’s social media attacks, much of which is targeted at council and elected members including City Ward Cr Rachel Pemberton who in 2020, in reply to Ms Kriznic’s taunts, replied: “I’m not interested in running for mayor. So please fuck off with your speculation and rabble rousing.”
At the council meeting last week, Ms Kriznic even heckled councillors until acting mayor Frank Mofflin asked her to stop or leave (which she did) during debate on the South Terrace hotel development.
Is this the calibre of person Fremantle wants on council? Is this the ‘champion’ the business community needs to promote their people and products as part of a ‘Freo Traders’ group the Chamber of Commerce has condemned as a political front (www.streetwisemedia.com.au/business-concerned-over-political-freo-traders)?
As FCF follower Rod Reynolds put it: “Is this a COMMUNITY forum? Or is it now no more than an echo chamber for admins, their agendas and supporters. Over the last 24 hours I’ve seen certain posts removed, commenting turned off when the heat is turned up on admins, and even people removed for daring to ask important questions and expressing dissenting views. All without so much as an explanation (as far as I can tell) from the admins. Is this a page for all? Because as far as community inclusion, political motivations and self-interest are concerned, it’s looking more and more like Freo Massive. And that’s not a good thing.”
FCF encourages people to, “stick to mentioning facts and keep the discussion fair as personal attacks will not be tolerated”. For a group that effuses transparency and accountability, this latest behaviour is poor form and juvenile and only undermines FCF’s credibility as a community-minded entity. Worse, it’s day five and no apology has been offered to the person at the centre of the unwarranted social media attack she never saw until friends contacted her.
When site rules governing how people interact with others are broken and abused, all that’s left is the law. Journalist bloggers and credible social media commentators know their limitations and duty of care when publishing sensitive and controversial content and images.
In this case, Ms Kriznic and those who support her views appear to have none.