A GB News programme which broadcast claims that the Covid-19 vaccination programme amounted to “mass murder” has been found to have broken Ofcom rules. The claims were made in an interview with Naomi Wolf on a show hosted by Mark Steyn last October.
Ofcom launched an investigation after receiving 422 complaints about the comments. It found that the broadcaster did not do enough to protect viewers from potentially harmful content.
Ms Wolf, a journalist and author, was interviewed about the roll-out of the Covid vaccine during Mr Steyn’s hour-long programme on the news channel. She claimed the vaccination programme amounted to “mass murder” and was comparable to the actions of “doctors in pre-Nazi Germany”.
Ofcom said her claims “amounted to the promotion of a serious, unchallenged conspiracy theory which was presented with authority”. It was “particularly concerned” by her “serious and alarming claim” that “mass murder” was taking place - something she repeated three times.
“These claims had the potential to impact on viewers’ decisions about their health and were therefore potentially harmful,” the Ofcom report said. “[GB News] should have ensured that Naomi Wolf’s potentially harmful comments were challenged or otherwise contextualised to provide adequate protection for the audience, which they were not.”
The programme was found to have broken rule 2.1 of Ofcom’s broadcasting code.
Ofcom has the power to fine a broadcaster or to suspend or revoke a licence if they consider a broadcaster has “seriously, deliberately, repeatedly or recklessly” breached one of its requirements.
That all depends on if the claim was totally false. We shall see if Ofcom can or will take any action, just in case it opens up a can of worms best left alone.
I’ll be surprised if Ms Wolf (who also described the vaccine rollout as a “massive crime”) has any proof of her unsubstantiated assertions …
However:
While Ofcom has “made clear that in line with the right to freedom of expression, broadcasters are free to transmit programmes that include controversial and challenging views about any topic,” GB News said it would “continue to broadcast programmes on that basis”, aired with appropriate context.
GB News was sanctioned for the first time since launch in early March for a different episode of Steyn’s show in which the host quoted official data from the UK Health Security Agency to say that the vaccines caused higher infection, hospitalization and death rates.
Steyn left GB News earlier this year due to a contract dispute regarding whether he would have to pay Ofcom fines if found liable, although Ofcom will not fine GB News on this occasion.
OFCOM will, no doubt, be keeping their beadies on GBN …
Comparing the vaccination program to experimenting on people considered worthless because of their race?
Where’s the Righties reaction to this to belittling what was done the Jews compared to their reaction to Diane Abbott?
I’ve never tuned into GBNews but I’ve seen and read enough bits from it to say it’s Brexity, right wing, low brow and inaccurate content reminds me of the old News of the World
It really is unpleasant that such political bias is allowed to broadcast of being a news channel
Some applicants have been waiting nearly a year, despite families having medical certificates confirming that vaccination was responsible for the death of their loved ones. Vikki Spit, whose partner Zion died at the age of 48 following a rare but severe reaction to the AstraZeneca vaccine, said she and other affected families waiting for support had been “ignored entirely”, ridiculed and called liars.
An element of truth that cannot be brushed aside, what was said by Naomi Wolf was offensive but highlighted tragic loss of lives.
So was Vikki Spit vaccinated but survived Ms Wolf’s “mass murder” …
Or are you saying “a rare but severe reaction to the AstraZeneca vaccine” caused the death of a single other identified person …
ETA On re-reading your post I see that the comments were unrelated … apologies …
In relation to Vicki Spit, I cannot comment on the medical aspect but the recognition and compensation scheme is totally inadequate:
James Bell, Medical Negligence Partner at Hodge Jones & Allen said: "While I am glad that Vikki has been able to receive some restitution for the hardship she has faced as a result of Zion’s death, the scheme simply isn’t fit for purpose. The Vaccine Damage Repayment Scheme needs to be urgently updated and re-thought. Not only has the application process been lengthy and inefficient, but the compensation Vikki received fails to reflect and remediate the full economic impact of her fiancée’s death.
“While nothing can be done to heal the emotional impacts, the least the scheme can do is ensure that loved ones left behind are not faced with further pain. The government has done a great job of protecting public health by encouraging mass uptake of the vaccine; this duty of care now needs to extend to the few unlucky individuals who took this advice and suffered the consequences.”
