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Crowdfunder
Help us challenge Ofcom to keep GB News in check
GB News
In early March 2024, Ofcom suggested that the rightwing broadcaster GB News doesn’t have to meet the same impartiality standards as broadcasters with a bigger audience. But we think this two-tier approach is unlawful.
GB News is a free-to-air news television and radio channel, launched in 2021, which is widely seen to be politically biased. Its roster of presenters has included Tory MPs Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey, Philip Davies and Lee Anderson, who recently defected to the rightwing populist party Reform UK. The former Channel 4 journalist Michael Crick, who the channel took off air during an interview, described GB News as “rightwing propaganda”.
Impartiality in the media is a cornerstone of democracy, with established rules that help make sure the public can see competing opinions and informed debate instead of being blasted with just one point of view. It’s Ofcom’s job to make sure all broadcasters – big or small – follow the rules on due impartiality.
But its CEO recently implied that the regulator holds GB News to a lower standard because of its smaller audience. This two-tier approach to impartiality appears not only to contradict Ofcom’s own Broadcasting Code, but also to breach the Communications Act 2003, making it unlawful.
We’ve teamed up with media expert Professor Julian Petley to hold Ofcom to account. Together, we’ve taken the first step in the legal process, calling on Ofcom to abolish any two-tier system and keep GB News in check.
Details
Your donations will be used to fund our legal action challenging Ofcom on due impartiality standards.
10% of the funds raised will be a contribution to the general running costs of Good Law Project. It is our policy only to raise sums that we reasonably anticipate could be spent on the work we are crowdfunding for. However, if there is a surplus it will go to develop and support further work we do to fight for a better fairer future for all.
Crowdfunder Updates
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17/04/2024
Ofcom backs down in the face of broadcasting bias challenge
Under threat of legal action, Ofcom has abandoned a two-tier approach to impartiality touted by its CEO in March 2024. She implied broadcasters with a smaller audience – such as GB News – are subject to lesser standards of impartiality. Ofcom responded that the CEO’s remarks were “informal” and that “the same rules and assessment process apply to all broadcasters”.
We’re still deeply concerned that GB News has faced no formal sanction, despite breaching Ofcom’s code on numerous occasions. Broadcasting bias poses a real threat to our democracy and should have meaningful consequences.
We’re taking legal advice and exploring options for further action.