And talking of the public being relentlessly misinformed, let's turn to another Tele story, or should we say campaign against Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore and the bike lanes she's built in Sydney.

On your bike, Clover — Daily Telegraph, 20th June, 2011

On your bike, Clover — Daily Telegraph, 21st June, 2011

Sydney's message to Clover WE'RE OVER YOUR BIKES — Daily Telegraph, 18th September, 2013

Last week's Message to Clover was just the latest skirmish in the Tele's long-running war against Sydney's cyclists, whom the paper sees as a bunch of cappuccino-swilling trendies.

Based on a recent travel survey, the paper reported cheerfully that:

Bicycle trips have fallen in the past decade, according to official figures which contradict claims by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore ... — Daily Telegraph, 18th September, 2013

Note that word contradict, which means 'say against' or 'deny the truth of', because it's crucial.

The Tele's front page story went on to explain that:

The NSW Bureau of Transport Statistics 2013 household travel report found bike trips dropped 5.9 per cent across the greater city since 2001. — Daily Telegraph, 18th September, 2013

It also observed that:

The figures come after Ms Moore said bike trips in the centre of the city had grown by more than 110 per cent since 2010 ... — Daily Telegraph, 18th September, 2013

So. What were we meant to make of this clash? Was Clover being accused of lying? Or at least of getting the figures wrong?

You'd be pardoned for thinking so, especially if you looked at the Tele's Facebook page, which baldly claimed ...

City cyclist numbers are falling ... — Daily Telegraph Facebook Page, 18th September, 2013

And, if you listened to the shock jocks, like Chris Smith and John Laws, riffing on the Tele article you could easily have reached the same conclusion:

John Laws: Despite fewer people than ever using the bicycles to travel to work, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore is continuing to push her pro-cyclist agenda on Sydney's motorists - why? Why she is so crazy about - well, why is she so crazy? ... — 2SM, John Laws Morning Show, 18th September, 2013

Chris Smith: This mad, bad plan to gouge out more bike lanes in the Sydney CBD is just plain stupid ... [EDIT] Bike trips dropped almost 6 per cent across the greater city area since 2001. So not only are these bike lanes unsuitable for our cramped traffic corridors, not only don't commuting cyclists use them ...[EDIT] there's now less and less demand for the damn things despite what Clover Moore wants us to think. — 2GB, Breakfast Show with Chris Smith, 18th September, 2013

But here's the thing. The figures from the NSW transport survey did not focus on Clover Moore's City of Sydney.

They covered bike trips across the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area, which stretches from south of Ulladulla almost 400 kilometres to the north of Newcastle, and 140 kilometres west to the other side of the Blue Mountains.

The figures also involved such a small sample that the Bureau warned the results were unreliable .

And they covered two of the wettest years on record, so it would no great surprise if bike trips were down.

In the City of Sydney where Clover has built her bike lanes, it's a very different story, as one could have discovered down the bottom of the orginal article ... and as a much less prominent story on the Tele's website told us later that day:

... latest independent counts in the City of Sydney conducted across 100 intersections show the number of people riding bikes over the past three years has more than doubled. ... on some routes, on an average weekday, as many as 2000 people are choosing to ride into the CBD. — Daily Telegraph Online, 18th September, 2013

So the truth is that bike lanes have increased bike traffic not reduced it.

And Clover Moore's claims are not contradicted at all.

Not surprisingly, some of the comments on the Tele's Facebook page were pretty scathing.

Matthew Whitmore: This article Is a joke. Pull your head in daily telegraph and don't pick and choose your facts to suit your headline. — Daily Telegraph Facebook Page, 18th September, 2013

Jonathan Bryant: I assume this article is satire? — Daily Telegraph Facebook Page, 18th September, 2013

On Twitter, there was also a surge of outrage, with the hashtag #onyerbike trending in Sydney.

@dailytelegraph's hysterical, biased headline article creates a dangerous climate for cyclists in Sydney. — Twitter, @andykquan, 18th September, 2013

Now the Murdoch press has finished trashing our Federal Government it's turning its guns on Clover & cyclists. Appalling! — Twitter, @gazouillement99, 18th September, 2013

But in the paper itself next day, where the demographic is a little older or the comments more easily controlled, the cheer squad was out in force ...

RUDE CYCLISTS CLIP UNWARY WALKERS Should cyclists be registered so they can be accountable for their actions? Yes Yes Yes Yes — Daily Telegraph, 19th September, 2013

It's an old truth that the way to bond with someone is to find a common enemy.

And that, so often, is the Tele's MO, whipping up outrage against people or policies its readers can scorn.

But the bike campaign has already got the Tele into trouble. Last year the Press Council ticked off the paper for letting opinions hijack its headlines.

This time it's the facts it's bending.

But the blitz continued, with stories like this on Wednesday ...

This the day after ...

And this the day after that .

We understand that some of these are the subject of new Press Council complaints.

But even if the Tele is cautioned again, we suspect it will copy those cyclists and keep on running the red lights.

Because the Tele does love a good campaign, especially when it appeals to the prejudices of its readers.

And you can find responses from the Telegraph and the Australian and more on both stories on our website. But for now that's all from me. Goodbye.

Disclaimer:

The Media Watch team ride bikes, catch public transport, drive and walk to work.