4 hours ago
7
Britain’s media regulator Ofcom is under pressure to investigate a GB News interview with Donald Trump after complaints that it contained misleading and inaccurate claims that the network failed to challenge.
The rightwing channel claimed a “world exclusive sit-down interview” with the US president in November, in which Trump asserted that human-induced climate change was “a hoax” and that London had no-go areas for police and that the capital had “sharia law”.
Trump made other claims about law and order and immigration that critics said were either left unchallenged or effectively endorsed by the GB News interviewer Bev Turner, the host of its US-based nightly show.
Among those calling for an investigation is Chris Banatvala, Ofcom’s founding director of standards. He told the Guardian he had “never seen anything comparable on a UK-established domestic broadcaster”.
Ofcom officials have spent the last few weeks examining at least three detailed complaints co-signed by tens of thousands of people, but have not yet decided whether to launch a formal investigation. The regulator is facing increasing accusations that it is reluctant to intervene over politically difficult issues of impartiality.
The complaints point to rules stating broadcasters must not “materially mislead the audience” and rules around due impartiality.
A complaint from Bob Ward, from the LSE’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, focused on Trump’s claims about human-induced climate change. Trump stated: “The whole thing is a hoax … but your country is one of the worst.”
Trump also made disputed claims about the red tape and taxes related to drilling in the North Sea, as well as stating that wind power was “the most expensive energy you can get”. This is contradicted by recent research.
Ward said: “The GB News interview with President Trump was the most blatant example of a British media organisation collaborating with the Trump administration to undermine British democracy with this misinformation.”
Complaints have also been made about Trump’s claim that London has areas “where the police don’t even want to go” and that “you have sharia law where they don’t even want to obey the laws of … your country”.
There was no challenge from the comments from Turner. When Trump said people are “being stabbed in the ass or worse”, she stated: “It’s true … It’s awful, it is. And it feels much safer [in the US].”
A complaint over a lack of impartiality from the 38 Degrees campaign group pointed to Turner “praising and endorsing Trump multiple times”. During the interview, she described a speech by Trump as “one of the greatest moments at the UN” and that she “loved it, it was brilliant”.
GB News declined to comment on the complaints.
GB News is emerging as a regular platform for Trump administration figures to raise chosen talking points. Trump’s White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has repeatedly promoted the broadcaster.
Banatvala, who was Ofcom’s founding director of standards, said the regulator was under “intense pressure to act”.
He said: “This case poses a real challenge for the regulator – not least because of the considerable leeway it has already given GB News and because it involves an interview with a sitting US president.
“While this style of interview – with no challenge and a presenter effectively feeding lines – may be the norm for Newsmax and Fox News, I’ve never seen anything comparable on a UK-established domestic broadcaster. There is no doubt this programme warrants investigation for potential breaches of the due impartiality and misleading rules.
“If Ofcom chooses not to investigate, it would effectively signal that the regulator has abandoned impartiality and broadcasters no longer need to comply with these rules.”
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are assessing the complaints against our rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”
