UK: GB News Threatened With Sanctions Over Impartiality Breach

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The Facts

  • UK media regulator Ofcom announced on Monday that GB News could face statutory sanctions, after a monthslong investigation into a People's Forum episode featuring Prime Minister Rishi Sunak found that impartiality rules were violated.

  • Ofcom added that a decision will be made within 60 working days, with potential punishments including a fine, forcing the channel to broadcast a correction, or even suspending or revoking its license.


The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

GB News has a long record of infringing on rules of due impartiality, despite Ofcom adopting a flexible approach to interpret them, so now the time has come for sanctions to be imposed on the channel. As the American experience teaches, undermining broadcast impartiality can only increase divisive influence on the political and media environment.

Establishment-critical narrative

These findings from the media regulator against GB News are completely unreasonable, as the People's Forum allowed undecided voters to challenge Sunak and keep him under constant pressure with robust questions about a wide range of issues. Sanctioning GB News only reveals that Ofcom's true goal is to silence the population.


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