Ofcom under fire after refusing to investigate ‘misleading’ GB News Trump interview | Ofcom
The UK’s media regulator Ofcom has been accused of abandoning “any pretense” of protecting against misleading and biased television broadcasts after it refused to investigate a series of complaints about a GB News interview with Donald Trump.
In an interview with the right-wing network last November, the US president falsely claimed that human-caused climate change was a “hoax” and that there were areas of London where police could not enter. He said there was “sharia law” in some parts of the capital.
He also made other claims about law, order and immigration that critics said were either left unchallenged or confirmed by interviewer Bev Turner, host of GB News’ US-based late-night programme.
But Ofcom said it had decided not to investigate 32 complaints alleging the interview was misleading or its presentation was partial.
A spokesman acknowledged that Trump’s views “were not challenged during the interview” but said “alternative viewpoints” that challenged his views were put forward in a surrounding panel discussion.
Chris Banatvala, Ofcom’s founding standards director who drafts the law and investigation procedures, said he was “stunned” by Ofcom’s decision.
“If ever a case deserved to be investigated for the publication of potentially misleading material and failure to comply with impartiality requirements, this is it,” he said.
“Donald Trump has been allowed to make a series of unsubstantiated claims, without challenge, that have the potential to mislead audiences and undermine the most basic standards and regulatory requirements expected of broadcast journalism.
“This was a test case of how Ofcom regulates broadcasters on impartiality. It failed that test. The decision raises serious questions about whether Ofcom is willing to enforce its own standards set out in legislation. It now appears that Ofcom has abandoned any pretense that meaningful regulation of broadcast content is still maintained.”
It comes amid concerns in the media world that Ofcom has avoided tackling accusations of bias and misleading allegations that could be politically divisive in recent years.
Another complainant, Bob Ward, director of policy and communications at the LSE’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, accused Ofcom of making a “shockingly bad decision” that allowed “harmful misinformation about climate”.
“The interview with President Trump was full of lies, such as claiming that climate change is a hoax and that there are no wind farms in China,” he said. “This poor decision, with no explanation, shows Ofcom is afraid to stand up to Trump for fear of further antagonizing him.”
A spokesman for Ofcom said: “We have carefully considered complaints about this current affairs programme, which features an interview with US President Donald Trump interspersed with a studio panel discussion and other guest interviews.
“Maintaining impartiality is a cornerstone of Ofcom’s broadcasting rules and the publication carried out a detailed evaluation of the entire program. While we accept that President Trump’s views were not challenged during the interview, the surrounding panel discussion and other guest interviews presented a number of alternative perspectives that strongly challenged his position.”
“Given this, we will not pursue complaints regarding this program any further.”
GB News was contacted for comment but did not wish to do so.
