Media regulator Ofcom has been accused of double standards after fining GB News £100,000 for “breaking due impartiality rules” in a pre-election interview with Rishi Sunak, while ITV is yet to be penalised for allowing Ed Balls to interview his wife, the Home Secretary, in August, despite triggering 8,000 complaints. The Spectator has more.
The programme with which Ofcom took issue – titled People’s Forum: The Prime Minister – was, according to the media watchdog, “in breach of Rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code” after Sunak was given “a mostly uncontested platform” to big up the work of the Government. The regulator explains that “given the seriousness and repeated nature of this breach”, a six-figure fine is necessary. It’s not quite the end of the matter for GB News yet, however, as the broadcaster will challenge the breach decision via judicial review – meaning that the sanction imposed by Ofcom will not be enforced until this process has concluded. …
The decision has sparked outrage on social media, with users levelling accusations of hypocrisy at the regulator over other broadcasters not receiving similar fines. … No such penalty has been issued to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, after it allowed presenter Ed Balls to interview Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who also happens to be his, um, wife. Despite the media watchdog receiving more than 8,000 complaints about the matter, no action has been taken on this issue as yet. Will Ofcom turn its guns on ITV in the same way it has GB News? Don’t hold your breath.
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