What if I told you that a major British institution was infecting young minds, reducing sperm counts and killing babies in the north of England? This dark organization, known as “Ofcom”, is known to use entertainment to anesthetize the masses, and it must be stopped before it is too late. I don’t have much evidence for these claims, but recent developments indicate that I can still air them freely on my own television show.
Indeed, Ofcom’s decision to reject complaints that UK News presenter Neil Oliver linked the coronavirus vaccine to something called “turbo cancer” will embolden all the purveyors of wild conspiracy theories. The fact that there is no such thing as “turbo cancer” (a Reuters fact check noted that the Canadian doctor who claimed it was linked to vaccines was under investigation for spreading misinformation) did not stop Ofcom from ruling that Oliver’s claims did not constitute infringement. Charter. It would appear that his freedom to express misleading or manifestly unbalanced opinions compromises Ofcom’s authority to prevent harmful or offensive content.
The decision, which saw Ofcom rule that 70 complaints about Oliver’s rant on January 13 should not be fully investigated, came after GB News was found to have breached the rules five times since April 2022 and remains under investigation. Why bother writing about this when there are 12 more violations? It is true that vaccine misinformation has real-world consequences, such as contributing to the resurgence of measles in Britain. But this strange decision also helps summarize where Ofcom has failed.
The organization faces constant bombardment from GB News’ extreme content as well as general political headwinds. More recently it has fetishized freedom of expression above all else and relied on a reductive line-by-line reading of the rules. As author Matthew Sweet points out, conspiratorial rants in mainstream media often not only do not fully articulate their implications, but also use tropes and trigger words commonly found in online chat rooms or Telegram channels used by conspiracy theorists. Such connections are crucial to understand, especially after Ofcom fought hard to be appointed the official regulator of online harm in the last Online Safety Act, as its remit has now become larger and more complex.
Ofcom deserves some sympathy: in a world of vast, global flows of information, it needs to police the line between free expression and harmful speech. But amidst the noise, he seems too committed to the belief that any interference could have a chilling effect on creativity, particularly “alternative voices” to those of traditional public service broadcasters such as the BBC.
Ofcom decided to “assess, not pursue” complaints about Oliver’s Great Britain News program and did not publicly disclose its decision-making process. But his brief statement explained: “In line with freedom of expression, our rules allow broadcasters to address controversial themes and topics… We recognize that these brief comments are the personal opinion of the presenter and do not materially mislead the audience.”
It didn’t matter that Oliver frequently associated vaccines with people dying. Just a week before the January 13 rumor, he claimed that “the elephant in the room when it comes to an adult conversation about unexpected deaths is a hint that there is a temporal connection between excess deaths and the rollout of vaccines.”
Ofcom appears to have decided that Oliver, as a known “polemicist”, should not be held to the same standards for accuracy and truthfulness as a news programme, despite his fame on a news channel. The clause in the rules suggesting that “a journalist, commentator or academic with professional expertise or expertise” may “express views that are not necessarily mainstream” seems so open to interpretation that it has spurred my own conspiratorial Anti-Ofcom TV bid. show at the top of this column.
However, the basis of broadcasting rules is that people must be adequately protected from content that may harm and disturb. Unsubstantiated claims regarding public health are inherently harmful.
In an upcoming article in Political Quarterly, Ofcom’s former director of content policy, Jacquie Hughes, speaks of a “lack of regulatory rigor” when it comes to newer non-public service channels such as GB News, particularly when compared to the BBC’s approach, which often has a “perception of impartiality” It is referred to as “. Despite Ofcom’s supposed independence, it’s hard not to see political factors at play here. Government-appointed Ofcom chief Michael Grade has offered support to Laurence Fox against what he calls the “woke brigade”. A team of executives seeking greater authority is led by Melanie Dawes, who says broadcasting rules “require us to do the following.” Prioritize freedom of expression“It is a statement that is not included in the rules themselves.
Relating to: Laurence Fox comments on Ava Evans’ Ofcom top complaints list for 2023
GB News has little concern about Ofcom. The 12 featured investigations include five appearances by current Tory MPs, including two by Jacob Rees-Mogg. However, this did not stop him from convincing the prime minister to present on the channel on Monday evening.
Television has been governed by legal regulations for a century when the world first realized the enormous power of pumping information into living rooms. When information first began to be pumped onto much smaller screens, diversity of opinion was thought to be a sufficient barrier to complete control, and the idea of editing was dismissed or considered too old-fashioned. An increasingly powerful regulator in the UK now has to police almost all information.
Ofcom is in a challenging position against wily new operators and politically motivated bad actors. However, it is worth remembering that the dangers of misinformation, such as pollution or disease, are often difficult to recognize until it is too late.
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