Like a host intervening between feuding relatives at a Christmas lunch, the ABC has moved to separate the logos of its international network partners Monash University and Swisse Wellness from appearing together on its website.
Monash, Swisse Wellness and the Victorian government were unveiled as partners to the ABC's international media service Australia Plus last week in a deal that critics said would taint the university by association with a manufacturer of complementary therapies.
The logo for Swisse, a company that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has sanctioned for making health claims unsupported by evidence, appeared alongside that of Monash on the ABC website as members of its "partnership portfolio".
Following concerns from Monash academics, the broadcaster has removed the logos from appearing together on its website, instead rotating the images or placing them at opposite ends of the page.
But the website has immediately drawn two more universities into the orbit of the vitamin giant, with editorial content about their students flanked by Swisse promotions.
A story about a day in the life of an overseas medical student at Melbourne University and a photograph of University of Sydney's main quadrangle in a story about student safety are heavily bejewelled with advertisements for Swisse vitamins.
Monash University Professor Ken Harvey, who resigned from La Trobe University in 2014 over that institution's decision to partner with Swisse, said the new presentation of Monash and Swisse logos was a vast improvement, but the university should have stipulated in its contract that the two not be linked.
The promotion of Swisse products alongside stories about other universities also left those institutions exposed, he said.
"You've got to admit that [Swisse] are consummate marketers," Dr Harvey said.
"This is what happens when you open the door a touch, these guys just rush in.
"As an independent university which is evidence-based, do you really want Swisse, the most shonky company out there, putting its logos next to your stuff?" said Dr Harvey, who is an executive member of Friends of Science in Medicine.
The TGA cancelled the registration of Swisse's Ultiboost Appetite Suppressant in 2013 because there was "insufficient evidence" to support the health benefits it promoted, only for the company to register it again under a new name.
Monash vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner reassured academics on Monday night that the university was not linked to Swisse in practice or perception, following changes by the ABC.
"The Monash partnership is a standalone partnership with ABC International and is in no way a partnership with Swisse or the Victorian government," she said in an email to one critic.
"Some stakeholders were initially concerned this was not the case, given that the Monash University logo appeared on the ABC International website alongside the logos of their other partners, the Victorian government and Swisse.
"Following the initial announcement of partnerships, ABC International has made iterative changes to its website, including how it has acknowledged and presented its partner organisations."
But Monash told Fairfax Media this had not been done at the university's request.
The ABC said in a statement: "Following the launch of the Foundation Sponsorships last week, ABC International's AustraliaPlus is now linking to a full Foundation Sponsorship page that provides more detail about our sponsors, each of our sponsorship categories and Foundation Sponsorship opportunities still available."
A Melbourne University spokesman said the story about its student had not been commissioned, and the university had no influence over what advertisements the website carried.
"The university has no partnership with Swisse, and no ability to control the advertising on external media websites," the spokesman said in a statement.
"The university does take the opportunity to profile stories of our students and alumni in international markets, and the ABC International website is just one such avenue for these profiles."
A spokeswoman for Swisse said Dr Harvey was well known for media stunts that allowed him to further his personal agenda.
