Ofcom Warns UK Broadcasters Over General Election Programing Following GB News Breaches
deadline.comAny British broadcaster who breaches general election programing rules will be hit with an Ofcom sanction, the regulator has said, a warning likely informed by a number of GB News breaches over the past year.
In a strongly-worded broadside to the broadcasting community, Ofcom said it is putting broadcasters “on notice to maintain due impartiality ahead of the general election.” “In particular, broadcasters are reminded that Rule 6.6 of the Code prohibits candidates in UK elections from acting as news presenters, interviewers or presenters of any type of programme during the election period,” Ofcom said today.
The right-leaning GB News has been found to be in breach a number of times for its practice of having politicians host news programs, with the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Phillip Davies falling foul.
GB News has been investigated more than a dozen times for a variety of potential breaches by Ofcom over the past year and was recently placed “on notice that any repeated breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction” after breaking the rules five times.
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